Struggling Aftermath
by Mask Rider Roy
Summary: Set after episode 26. With Earth saved and the Skruggs defeated, Joey tries to resume his normal life after Heroman died against Gogorr. However, He faces new dangers as Minami and a new group of villains plan on attacking Joey since Heroman is no more.
1. Aftermath and Recovery

**Struggling Aftermath**

Hello, and welcome to my first-ever** Heroman** fanfic. I must say I was taken by surprise when I learned from **wikipedia** that this manga/anime series is created by famed Marvel Comics icon, **Stan Lee**, and I only learned of this when it aired at my country's cable TV last September, and after researching this I started to watch it and found myself drawn to it.

Although set in the USA, it didn't deter me and I kept on tuning in seeing how Heroman was "born" and how **Joey Jones** came to light being the main protagonist. His background as a typical down-to Earth teen, and being often bullied at school, this is how he started to become a HERO after gaining the Heroman power via his gauntlet.

Though I haven't read the manga yet, I guess I can do something plot-wise to give you readers something to read having watched nearly all of the episodes (I started watching after episode 10), and having seen most of the characters, I came up with something that might interest you and give you Heroman fans something to enjoy reading.

Before I made this fic, I noticed that the Heroman fanfics within the "Manga/Anime" category shows mostly Joey and Heroman and one with **Simon Kaina** (aka "Psy"), and that it lacks a Joey x Lina pairing, so I decided to create one if there are readers who wanted to see a "straight pairing", since I find the two teens cute. Moreover, I believe that romance between Joey and Lina is possible so I'm going to try this out here to see if this fic would be well-received.

Moreover, the setting of this story will be set after the events of the anime, so expect some "bad guys" (manga/anime-made and fic-exclusive) to show up and give Joey a hard time, so expect a lot of drama here in this fic.

And...I'll be altering some of the plots, such as having Heroman "destroyed" after the "final" battle against **Gogorr**.

Okay...now that I said my piece...it's time to get things started!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer:<strong>_

**Heroman** is owned by Stan Lee and Bones

* * *

><p>Twelve months have passed since <strong>Joey Carter Jones<strong> and his friends saved Center City from the **Skrugg** Invasion, and with **Gogorr**'s apparent death, the said-city, located in Los Angeles, California, the residents within the "West City" of the United States of America are slowly resuming its normal, daily life, thankful that the crisis has ended and that the damage is slowly being fixed, and everyone is grateful to Joey and Heroman for their heroic deeds, though they are sympathetic when they witnessed **Heroman**'s death when he exploded along with Gogorr and his base was obliterated and that only Joey managed to survive the explosion, and he was hospitalized due to the shock of the explosion which paralyzed his legs.

"H-Heroman…I'm sorry…"

"Easy, Joey…we got you…"

"Joey!"

"Joey!"

"Joey!"

"Psi…? Lina…? Sis…? **Professor Dalton**…?"

"We're all here, Joey…we're glad you're alright…"

"Professor…I can't move my legs…!"

"Darn…we need help! This boy's injured!"

**-x-**

During the first six months Joey underwent physical therapy to regain the movement of his legs with **Lina Davis** providing moral support for him, while **Mr. Davis** (Lina and **Will**'s father), who is grateful to Joey for protecting Lina, shouldered Joey's hospital bills but he took it back after the US President informed him that the government will pay for the bills and Joey is grateful for the president's gesture.

**Axel Hughes** also made a visit and assured to him that his deeds will be recognized though Joey is reluctant to take it into consideration since he is not used to attention.

"Hughes…"

"The US Congress decided to recognize you as America's hero…and you've earned it, kid. I'm very sorry about Heroman's death…but at least our planet's saved. You should go back to normal life now…you deserved to be happy. First thing you need to do is get your legs moving again."

"Thanks…I'll go back to school once I'm moving again…"

After a few more weeks (about almost three months) of physical therapy, Joey is 80% healed though he cannot participate in any Physical Education activities for now given that his body is not yet fully recovered though he can resume his studies and is now getting ready to go back to school while his friend, **Simon Kaina** (aka "**Psy**"), who helped Joey in defeating the Skruggs, was rewarded by having his injured leg "repaired" and is now on his way to recovery yet it would take another month for him to go back to school and tells Joey to go ahead.

"You go ahead to school. I'll catch up soon."

"Thanks! I'll see you there!"

**-x-**

When word about Joey's return to Center City and resuming school got out, many flocked to Joey's place and visited him, congratulating him and assured to him that they are "100% behind him" which the now 15-year old boy shyly accepted and told them that he is still the same Joey everyone knew. Of course the neighborhood knows that Joey lost Heroman and they are quite worried that a new menace might come and attack Center City, but for now they are content with the peace they got.

"Joey!"

"Welcome back, kid! And welcome home!"

"The place isn't the same without you!"

"Sorry to hear about Heroman, though…"

"At least you get to be back home…"

Joey blushed at the attention he's getting but changed the subject by asking them if his elder sister, Holly is here, which he got an immediate answer.

"Thanks…uh…how's my elder sister…?"

"On a tour with her band…and they're making an album and even plan to make an MV and MTV based on you and Heroman…"

"I see…"

**-x-**

However, not everyone appreciated Joey's efforts and this earned the teen a lot of detractors, such as in school where some of Will's friends harbor a grudge against Joey, believing that the "brat stole Will's spotlight" and intend to make his life miserable once they get the chance when no one is looking around, having learn that Heroman is dead and that he has no means to defend himself.

"That brat…he stole the spotlight meant for Will…"

"Yeah…he's just showing off to impress Lina…"

"When we get back to school…when HE get back to school…we'll make him regret coming back here…"

"How about we dressed ourselves as masked hoodlums and break his legs again…for good…?"

"Sounds like a good idea…How about letting me join you…?"

"Huh?"

And in a shocking turn of events, Will's best friend, **Nicholas de Carlo** shows up and is unharmed, but somehow managed to regain his human form but was able to steal some of the Skrugg technologies and sneaked back to his home and there he conspires with some of Will's friends and plan to get even at Joey, believing he stole Will's "thunder" which should belonged to Nick's now-missing friend.

"Nick! You're alive!"

"Glad to see you!"

"Sure…anything to make that brat go away will do!"

"Good…but let's meet after school…"

**-x-**

Meanwhile, somewhere at Center City, the scene shifts to a posh house where a politician is shown glancing at the TV where **Keisha Jackson** is reporting about Joey's recovery and returning to school, and there the politician, identified as "Dumbo Tramp", is eyeing maliciously at the boy, seeing that he can garner votes for the upcoming elections where he plans to run for Vice Presidency by hatching a plan to make Joey a villain once he comes up with a plan to discredit him.

"_Hmm…that boy…he'll make a good tool that would help me get the seat to Vice Presidency…and with Heroman gone…that brat's mine to manipulate…_"

**-x-**

As another week passed, which Joey's school year is about to commence the following week, the 15-year old boy decided to pass up the time by working at "Hilly's Café" where Joey works part time there, and the owner, **Hilly** himself, welcomed him with open arms, along with the Café's patrons. Everyone witnessed Joey's heroic deeds and respected him even more. Because of this more and more customers frequented Hilly's Café not just to have coffee, but to get a glimpse of Joey Jones up close and personal. To their surprises, Joey kept a fine grip on himself and never let this "heroic deed" get over his head, remaining humble and keeping his humility.

"Joey!"

"Hey…the hero's back home!"

"Welcome back, kiddo!"

"We're starting to miss you a lot!"

"Yeah! The café's never the same without you!"

"E=he-he-he…guys…please…I'm still the same Joey as before…no need to revel on me…"

As Joey tries to tell the customers that he is still the same Joey as before, one of Hilly's Café's frequent customers, "**Stan**", tells Joey to keep up with the attitude and never let fame get over him, which the teen is glad to hear, but sweat-dropped when Stan demanded coffee from him, just like he always did. Joey sighed yet he is fine that things went relatively the same as before.

"Well-said, Joey-boy! You sure as humble as always…don't let fame get over your head…you're just an ordinary boy like everyone else…"

"Thanks, Mr. Stan…"

"Good…now then…GET ME A COFFEE! NOW!"

"EEEP YES, SIR…!"

Laughter echoed inside the café as things are getting livelier with Joey's return, who are glad to see him alive and well.

**-x-**

As peace is currently playing, crisis is now looming when Axel Hughes is having an emergency meeting at the NIA, discussing with other high-ranked military officials about the escape of **Dr. Minami** and his cronies, and they feared that they might target Joey should the mad scientist finds out that Heroman is destroyed and they might take advantage of it. Hughes realizes that Joey's friends and loved ones are at risk should Minami learn of their identities.

"Any footages of how Minami got out?"

"No…the CCTVs were deactivated…perhaps due to the Skrugg attacks…"

"There has to be…"

"This is your fault!"

"No, I'm not! It's your fault!"

"No…him…!"

"Stop pointing your finger at me!"

"Then who is to blame? Hughes? He's busy helping that Jones kid in defeating the Skruggs!"

"Then take the blame!"

"Will you stop pointing at me?"

As everyone bickered at who is to blame of the scientist and his cronies' escape, Hughes urged everyone to remain calm and that the first thing to do is find out where the escapees might head to and figure out the frequent places he'd be heading so that they can make their next step in tracking and trapping the escapees. By then Hughes' aid, **Elmer Howard** whispered to his superior and told him something.

"Sir…I have a suggestion…"

"What is it?"

"Sir…it's best that we keep this from Joey Jones…"

"Why?"

"He just got out of the hospital…regained the use of his legs…and he might go reckless if he finds out about this…and just to remind you…Heroman's dead…so the boy has no means to defend himself…and if Minami were to find out about this fact…he might target him…or worse…target his friends and loved ones…"

"I see…"

"How about we contact the boy's teacher…? At least his inventions can match up to that of Minami's…"

"I understand…I will make my move…"

With Howard's suggestion, Hughes then decided to contact **Matthew Danton**, Joey's school teacher and confidante, in secret so that he can confide to Joey's science teacher about the situation. He doesn't want Joey to be alarmed about this fact given that he not only lost Heroman, but he had just recovered from a serious injury and he doesn't want the young boy to risk his life over again, wanting Joey to live a normal life.

**-x-**

Meanwhile, somewhere within the West Coast of Center City, the disgraced members of the "Generas Industry" are stealthily making their way through a place where no one can pursue them. **Dr. Minami** is leading the pack, with his followers tagging along after his personal secretary, **Veronica**, freed them from prison during the final Skrugg invasion. Following Dr. Minami are the following who are easily identified:

**- Amanorich**, one of MRL's top researchers. Even though he is a nihilist, he wears 3-D glasses to see the world in a different color;

**- Stallion**, one of MRL's top researchers. He is always seen wearing thick machinist gloves

As they are trekking within a forested area, Minami vowed to make Heroman pay and will do everything to break, but then gets some good news when Veronica tells him the current situation and this is music to the scientist's ears, and now he is rubbing his hands in excitement, as he chose to settle his affairs by targeting Joey instead.

"Sir…I have a scoop for you…Heroman's dead…"

"Well, that's bad news…now I can't…"

"Sir…Joey Jones is alive…you can take your frustrations out on him…and with Heroman not around since he is destroyed, he's easy picking…in any way you can lay on him where you can deem fit..."

"Really…? I guess I can settle for that brat who stole my glory…"

"…and I managed to get the list of Joey Jones' friends and family…we can use them to break down the boy…then we can break him down before you can deal with the fatal strike…"

"Ah…yes…that's a good suggestion…at least I can satiate my lust for revenge…"

Amanorich and Stallion heard this and they too petitioned to join in on getting revenge by targeting Joey, and Minami is more than delighted to hear this.

"Boss…can we join you on that little plot of yours…?"

"We want to make that brat pay…since Heroman's no more…we can at least pluck the kid's fingernails…"

"Yes…be my guests…we will make Joey Jones pay for the humiliation we got…but for now we need a place to stay and hide…then hatch a plan on how to get the brat down to his knees…"

"Yes, boss!"

"Yes, boss!"

As the Generas Industry escapees made their way out of the forest, they are greeted by a parked limousine and they checked it out to see if there is someone there, but then the limousine's door opened and Minami is surprised to see Senator Tramp sitting inside and there the senator motions Minami to come inside as he wants to have a word with him.

"Hello, Dr. Minami…"

"You…you're Senator Tramp!"

"Yes…and I have a proposition for you…and if you agree and accept…I can shield you from the authorities…provide you sanctuary…"

"And how do we know if you're not going to rat on us?"

"If that was my intention…then the police would've surrounded you already…be not afraid…I only wanted a discussion with you…"

"Wait a moment…Veronica…what do you think?"

"I say we go with him and see what he has to offer us…"

"Fine…we'll go with you…can we ride with you…?"

"Yes, of course…we have much to discuss…such as Joey Jones' downfall…"

"Ahh…I see we have the same tastes and goal…fine…I'll trust you for now…everyone…hop in!"

And so the escapees boarded the limousine and Tramp took the escapees to parts unknown as Minami is assured that he and his cronies won't be sent back to prison and the parties involved are now discussing plans on how to "break down" Joey Jones, as well as making him a "menace to society" as a way to weakened his self-esteem before dealing the fatal blow to the boy.

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

><p>Okay…hope you liked the opening chapter…<p>

While the 1st chapter diverges from the aftermath events of episode 26, it will give you something to enjoy, as Joey gets to resume his daily life and how to cope with the future he is facing without Heroman. This will certainly add a lot of pressure once his would-be detractors comes in and starts to lay out the plans to "bring him down" emotionally before dealing with him physically.

While Lina gets little screen time in this chapter, she will get more exposure in the next chapter as she and Joey will meet as the school starts. Romance and drama will follow while danger is looming close by…and this is where the title comes in…"Struggling Aftermath"…as our "hero" will face a lot of pressure after his "adventure" ended abruptly while his enemies are making moves to get revenge on the teen.

"Dummy Tramp" is an OC (original character) and I based him as a parody of real-life billionaire, **Donald Trump**, but I have him as one of the villains here. He'll son becoming a VERY hated character in this ficm once the next chapters come i to play.

Moreover, Tramp's character is DIRECTLY INSPIRED from **Acetylene Lamp**, a character from the 2003 version of the anime, **Astro Boy**(2003). He is going to be the "main villain" for this fic after Gogorr's defeat.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Preview:<strong>_

Joey goes back to school, and tries to rekindle his "romance" with Lina while adjusting to normal life, when his detractors make their first move.


	2. Concert and Ambush

**Struggling Aftermath**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer:<strong>_

**Heroman** is owned by Stan Lee and Bones

* * *

><p>Okay…I got a few reviews…but I'm not complaining, because these are enough for me to upload the next chapter. Many thanks to those who reviewed this fic! I'm really grateful. I thought there were those not interested in a Joey x Lina pairing, but I'm glad there are those who liked my opening chapter, so again, many thanks for the reviews. It really gives me the inspiration to have the motivation to work on the story as well as helping me build up the story.<p>

Last chapter is just the start, but here, Joey and Lina are going to get some screen time here as they go on a date before the school term starts, and there the danger commences as our teen "hero" gets his first taste of trouble since the Skrugg invasion.

Now that's all said…we now commence to chapter 2.

Heroman…ATTACK!

**-x-**

Thursday…

Three days before Joey resumes his study at Central City Middle School, the 15-year old boy got home after his part-time work at Hilly's Café, and the scene shows that while his home appeared to be the same, it did get some "make-over" during his 6-month confinement and rehabilitation at Central City Hospital, which made it a bit "posh", in which the Jones house looked a border within the lower to middle-class. Even though Joey humbly turned down the government's offer of a financial reward, Hughes was able to persuade the boy in to accepting the reward.

While Joey accepted them, he used part of the reward money to "upgrade" his house so as to give it a slightly bigger space, as moving to a new location is "out of the question" for him, and though the "upgrading" is done, it resembles quite the same except with some "minor" addition to the Jones house yet it looked like it almost belonged to a middle-class resident. Joey then puts the rest on a savings bank and it remained there ever since, as Joey relies on his salary as a worker at Hilly's Café to act as his monthly allowance.

While he is about to go to his room, his grandmother, Virginia gave her grandson a letter that came from Holly.

"Ah, Joey…you're home…"

"Good afternoon, Grandma!"

"A letter came…and it's from Holly…"

"From sis?"

"Yes…better go and read it…"

"Okay…"

Entering his room, he opened the envelop which reveals a letter and a pair of tickets for an upcoming concert, and then he read the letter in which the sender is none other than his elder sister, Holly.

"_Hey, Joey…this is your elder sister! Sorry if I'm not around you when you were rehabilitating your legs, but Psy told me that by now you're recovered and about to go back to school. My band is performing this Saturday at the Center City Coliseum…and we're performing with famous Japanese-American singer Kylee. The tickets you'll be having are VIPs and you'll get a first-row entrance, so use them to invite Lina and I want you two to have a good time, okay? And…use this opportunity to tell her your feelings…it's time you two get together…so make sure you confess to her and I'm sure she'll agree to go out with you…so go make your move! Ciao! Holly._"

Joey blushed at the message, and since he and Lina had their first date, the only progress he ever made is holding her hand (with his gauntlet) and giving her a good ride at the ferris wheel, but he hasn't said anything yet, so he wonder if he should tell her his feelings or not, as he is still shy in regards to the girl he like. But, he realized that Holly is right and he should make his move so he went down towards the living room and picked up the telephone, dialing some numbers and soon he is talking to someone.

"Hello…Davis residence…"

"Um, hello…Lina…?"

"Joey?"

"Lina…hi."

"Oh, hi…what brings you up and decided to call me…"

"Well…I was wondering…are you free this Sunday…?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Umm…you see…"

**-x-**

Saturday…

It was 18:00, and the scene reveals that the place currently showing is the Center City Coliseum, where Holly and her band, along with Kylee, are going to perform, and with so many people are there, they failed to notice Joey being among the crowd, with Lina beside him, and when Joey showed to the ushers the VIP tickets, they led him and Lina to the VIP entrance area and got the first row area just as the show is just 10 minutes away from the start of the performance.

"Wow…so many people…how did you get the VIP tickets?"

"Sis gave them to me…"

"They're going to perform, right?"

"That's right…and looks like sis and her band are making their debut with a famous singer…ah…it's starting…"

As the final minutes passed the concert has started, with Kylee, the feature performer of the concert, emerged from the curtain and Holly and her band are also there where the shows started and the featured singer took the mic and talked to the crowd much to their excitement and delight as she provoked them to listen to her singing, which made the fans eager to hear her sing. Despite the loud cheers, Joey and Lina didn't have problem for now and all they did were staying close to each other.

"HELLO, EVERYONE!"

"HI!"

"EXCITED TO SEE ME?"

"YEAH!"

"WANT ME TO SING?"

"YEAH!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! DO YOU WANT ME TO SING?"

"YEAH!"

"THEN BUCKLE UP…'COZ HERE IS THE FIRST SONG…NOW IT'S TIME WE ROCK THE HOUSE!"

"ALRIGHT!"

There the music blared and the fans await Kylee's first song and there the Japanese-American singer began singing one of her popular songs, much to her fans' delights, and there Holly and her band began to play their musical instruments and the first number has commenced.

**~x~**

_No one wants to wake up to an empty home_  
><em>No one ever wants to be alone<em>  
><em>It's not so easy to let them go<em>  
><em>The ones that you love<em>

_Now that you're gone, who will make me smile?_  
><em>Who will pick me up when I fall down?<em>  
><em>Who will be there to tell me right from wrong?<em>  
><em>I regret letting you go<em>

_I have this vacancy in my heart_  
><em>There's just something that's always tearing me apart<em>  
><em>I don't know why I ever let you go<em>  
><em>Now, there's no one to bear with me<em>

_Everyday I wake up thinking it'll be okay_  
><em>'Cause you promised me that, you'd come back some day<em>  
><em>My heart is throbbing but I will wait<em>  
><em>And I'll try... to stay strong<em>

_And I will always miss you_  
><em>But I can't take it anymore<em>  
><em>What if you're that one they said<em>  
><em>That passed away, oh no<em>

_I have this vacancy in my heart_  
><em>There's just something that's always tearing me apart<em>  
><em>I don't know why I ever let you go<em>  
><em>Now, there's no one to bear with me<em>

_And I miss you and love you and I will hold on_  
><em>And I know there's a chance that you will come back, oh ooh<em>  
><em>And I dream of the day that you'd come back home<em>  
><em>And I hope that you know<em>

_I have this vacancy in my heart_  
><em>There's just something that's always tearing me apart<em>  
><em>I don't know why I ever let you go<em>  
><em>Now, there's no one to bear with me<em>

_I have this vacancy in my heart_  
><em>There's just something that's always tearing me apart<em>  
><em>I don't know why I ever let you go<em>  
><em>Now, there's no one to bear with me<em>

_Bear with me_

**~x~**

The fans applauded at her first opening and then she bowed to them and started to arouse them with excitement as she prepared to sing her second number and this made the audience eager to hear more from their favorite singer as she gets ready to do another song, while Lina starts to clap her hands like the rest of the fans while Joey smiled, seeing that Lina is enjoying herself immensely. He then saw Holly smiling at her then winked, and he nodded his head in response.

"_Thanks, sis…_"

By then Kylee began to sing her next song.

**~x~**

_We all fall down_  
><em>And I feel your pain<em>  
><em>In these situations<em>  
><em>You've gotta step up!<em>

_And it's okay_  
><em>Just take it all in<em>  
><em>Nothings ever changed<em>  
><em>We all make mistakes<em>

_Just breathe it all in ooh woah_  
><em>Just breathe it all out yeah<em>  
><em>Just take it all in ooh woah<em>  
><em>Before you fall out yeah<em>

_There's a way out_  
><em>Go ahead &amp; choose<em>  
><em>Cuz I am here now<em>  
><em>You've got nothing to lose<em>  
><em>Yeah, it's OK<em>  
><em>Just take it all in<em>  
><em>Nothing's ever changed<em>  
><em>That's the risk we take<em>

_Just breathe it all in ooh woah_  
><em>Just breathe it all out yeah<em>  
><em>Just take it all in ooh woah<em>  
><em>Before you fall out yeah<em>

_Erase your pain and let go_  
><em>Just take your time, don't rush now<em>  
><em>Don't be too hard on yourself<em>  
><em>Leave it all behind now<em>

_Just take a chance to breathe now!_

**~x~**

The audience applauded louder at the second performance and Kylee told them to be patient as she'll take a 10-minute break to "recharge", and while the break is ongoing, Joey and Lina glanced at each other and smiled, seeing that they are having a good time, and by then Kyle returned and soon her third number is up which further upped the performance and once more the concertgoers went wild in excitement and anticipation.

**~x~**

_We had a spark you caught my eye_  
><em>Everytime I'd walk by<em>  
><em>We were perfect<em>  
><em>At least that is what I though oh<em>  
><em>You used to be my everything<em>  
><em>I even let you in<em>  
><em>Gave you my love and my heart,<em>  
><em>Got it back in two<em>

_Yes I have been hurt many times_  
><em>But not like this before<em>  
><em>Frustrations come and go<em>  
><em>But this ones<em>  
><em>Been here for too long<em>

_I'm so over it_  
><em>I see now that I am better off without you<em>  
><em>Without you<em>  
><em>I'm so over you<em>  
><em>I do not need this pain when I am around you<em>  
><em>Around you<em>

_I am so over it_  
><em>So over you<em>  
><em>I am over it<em>  
><em>Over you<em>  
><em>I am so over it<em>  
><em>So over you<em>

_I'm so over it_  
><em>I see now that I am better off without you<em>  
><em>Without you<em>  
><em>I'm so over you<em>  
><em>I do not need this pain when I am around you<em>  
><em>Around you<em>

_I'm so over it_  
><em>I see now that I am better off without you<em>  
><em>Without you<em>  
><em>I'm so over you<em>  
><em>I do not need this pain when I am around you<em>  
><em>Around you<em>

_Let's go our ways_  
><em>It's better this way<em>  
><em>We'll make it thru<em>

_I'm so over you_

**~x~**

Again the audience applauded with approval and are clamoring for more, which Holly and her band-mates saw that their performance is a huge success and now they realized that their concert time is almost up, having spend about nearly three hours, and so Kylee spoke to the audience if they wanted to end the concert with a huge bang, which they reacted with a thunderous reaction.

"THANK YOU, FANS…SO YOU WANT MY LAST NUMBER BE A BIG BANG?"

"YEAH!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! DO YOU WANT TO HEAR MY FINAL PIECE BEFORE GOING HOME WITH SMILES ON YOUR FACES?"

"YEAH!"

"THEN YOU CAN HAVE IT! HERE IT IS…THE ENDING SALVO OF THIS CONCERT!"

And so Holly and her band-mates began playing their instruments as the audience roared with excitement as they recognized the tune of the final song Kylee is about to sing, and both Joey and Lina braced themselves as they too recognized the song which they recently heard from the radio and Holly upped the ante as Kylee started to sing one of her most successful songs to date in Central City.

**~x~**

_hitori kite mita itsumo no kouen_  
><em>A FEELING NEVER FELT<em>  
><em>kodomo mitai ni kaze no oto ga kowakute kaerimichi hashittanda<em>

_suki to iwarete hagurakashita_  
><em>SAY IT AGAIN (gomen ne)<em>  
><em>ima nara chanto uketomerareru noni<em>  
><em>kimi wa mou inai GONE AWAY<em>

_koe ga kikitai yo MISS YOU_  
><em>ima aitai yo doushite mou ashita o miteru no<em>  
><em>nogashita nette TIMING<em>  
><em>kantan ni iwanaide mou ichi do dake waratte<em>

_kareshi kanojo THIS IS WHERE WE START OUR GOODBYES sou desho eien nante_  
><em>kuchi ni dekinai yakusoku mo iranai yo tada kimi no tonari ni itatai<em>

_mado no soto wa hiro sugiru sora_  
><em>WHERE ARE YOU NOW (todoite)<em>  
><em>itsuka kanau negai nara nee kamisama ima sugu kanaete MY WISH<em>

_daisuki na noni IT'S TOO LATE zutto mae kara_  
><em>akirametemo kako ni dekinai yo<em>  
><em>shou ga naitte no way kantan ni kimenaide<em>  
><em>HERE AT LAST ON MY OWN SOLITUDE<em>

_koe ga kikitai yo MISS YOU_  
><em>ima aitai yo doushite mou ashita o miteru no<em>

_koe ga kikitai yo MISS YOU_  
><em>ima aitai yo doushite mou ashita o miteru no<em>  
><em>nogashita nette TIMING<em>  
><em>kantan ni iwanaide mou ichi do dake<em>  
><em>daisuki na noni IT'S TOO LATE zutto mae kara<em>  
><em>akirametemo kako ni dekinai yo<em>  
><em>shou ga naitte NO WAY kantan ni kimenaide<em>  
><em>mou ichi do dake waratte<em>

**~x~**

The audience roared loudly in approval and chanted Kylee's name repeatedly as the singer and Holly's band bowed in response and left the stage just as the performance ended with a good note and a big bang. As the coliseum is being emptied with the concertgoers going home, Holly looked through the window of her band-mates' dressing room, where she saw Joey escorting Lina home, and Kylee asked Holly why she let them go instead of asking them to come here so she would get an up-close-and-personal look at the boy who saved Center City.

"So that's Joey…? You're younger brother who saved Center City…? So cute…but why didn't you invite him here? I bet he'd be thrilled to see you standing beside me…"

"He's got a date…and he would prefer avoiding lots of crowd…he's not used to attention after learning that he was seen on TV…"

"Really? How down-to-Earth he is…"

"And…he's rather go back to normal life after the invasion ended…"

"I see…good for him…and good point…"

Seeing Holly's logic, Kylee is amazed that Joey has kept himself "grounded", and is impressed at the humility the boy has shown. She then told Holly and her band that their performance is a hit and that they'll all get paid with bonus commissions, which the female band members are pleased with, and there Kylee's manager came and offered Holly a proposition to join Kylee in signing a record label that would further help their career. After some several minutes of thinking, Holly and her band-mates accepted, seeing that Joey can take care of himself and that he will understand her position right now.

**-x-**

Later in the evening, just outside the Davis residence, Joey escorted Lina and there she thanked him for giving her a good time. As she is about to go inside her house, she gave him a hug which Joey blushed and only stood there without moving.

"I have to get some rest…thanks for tonight…I really had a good time…"

"You're welcome…"

"Good night, then…"

"Good night…"

As Lina went inside the gate, she came out again, and gave him a kiss on his lips, further causing him to blush deeply as she bid him goodnight. Joey then left and heads home, his cheeks still reddened as he gently touched his lips, feeling Lina's lips are still there and realizing that he got his first kiss. He wondered if they're an official couple, but then stopped as he realized that he hasn't confessed to Lina his feelings yet.

"_Ah! I forgot! I should've asked Lina if she can be my girlfriend! Ah…nevermind…that can wait…at least she had a good time…_"

As he proceeded to walk home he didn't noticed that some men wearing ski masks are waiting for him and are armed with lead pipes and emerged from several parked cars and struck him, one blow hit him on the left side of his temple and the teen boy is down, having been taken by surprise. The ground that Joey is on is filled with blood as his left temple area is busted open. With no witnesses around, the masked attackers then proceeded to attack him with their weapons, hitting him on his torso and his wounded head.

After that, the leader of the attackers came and grabbed Joey by his head and gave him a warning.

"Joey Jones…you make me sick and look how pathetic you are…you're just a brat now with Heroman gone…see…? You couldn't do those amazing things you showed on TV several months ago…and that shows what a weakling you are…right? "

"Unnhhh…"

"Look at that…he couldn't even fight back…"

"It shows that he's only good with Heroman around…now he's nothing but a weak puppy…"

"Listen up…don't you dare show your face at school…or you'll be sorry…Center City Middle School is better off without you…we'll be the heroes and not a punk like you…"

"Nnnhhh…"

"And you stay away from Lina…she's better off with a real man like me…and if you get close to her…we'll bang more than just your freakin' head…"

As the leader pummels Joey's rib area with the pipe, the attackers' assault came to a halt when a car came and its headlights flashed which forces them to make a run for it, and there the driver of the car emerged, revealing to be Lina's father, who just arrived after a late-night meeting with some businessmen. With him is another businessman who promptly uses his cellphone and called the police while Mr. Davis checks on Joey, shocked to see his state and tries to rouse him from falling unconscious by speaking to the boy.

"Damn hooligans…attacking someone…"

"Hey…Davis, look…that's Joey Jones…whoa! He's bleeding and hurt!"

"Call for police and an ambulance!"

"Got it!"

"Joey…can you hear me? I'm Lina's dad! Try to stay awake!"

"Uhhhnnn…"

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Okay…hope you liked this chapter…<p>

At least you get to see Joey and Lina having a good time.

Although the chapter ended with a bad night with the masked attackers making things clear to him not to go back to school and to stay away from Lina. Thank goodness Lina's dad came and inadvertently stopped the assault, and at least he is no longer cold towards Joey, having seen him saving Center City from Skrugg invasion and for protecting Lina.

With what happened just now, Joey's return to school has taken a backseat, and the identities of his attackers has yet to be identified.

The song lyrics shown above are theme songs from various anime series, all sung by real life Japanese-American singer **Kylee**, with the first three songs being the ending themes from **Xam'd: Lost Memories**. They are titled "Vacancy", "Just Breathe", and "Over U". The fourth one is the second opening theme from the manga/anime **Heroman**, with the song titled "Missing".

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

Joey eventually goes back to school, and tries to rekindle his "romance" with Lina while adjusting to normal life, while his attackers' identities, and who orchestrated the attack on Joey, will finally be revealed.


	3. Culprits Revealed and Abduction

**Struggling Aftermath**

Okay...I got a new review...so now I'm going to commence in putting on chapter 3 here...and the ones behind Joey's ambush will be shown here...and how would Joey cope with what just happened to him…

With that said…HEROMAN…ATTACK!

* * *

><p>After walking Lina home and getting his first kiss following their date at a concert, Joey proceeded to walk home yet he didn't noticed that some men wearing ski masks are waiting for him and are armed with lead pipes and emerged from several parked cars and struck him, one blow hit him on the left side of his temple and the teen boy is down, having been taken by surprise. The ground that Joey is on is filled with blood as his left temple area is busted open. With no witnesses around, the masked attackers then proceeded to attack him with their weapons, hitting him on his torso and his wounded head.<p>

After that, the leader of the attackers came and grabbed Joey by his head and gave him a warning.

"Joey Jones…you make me sick and look how pathetic you are…you're just a brat now with Heroman gone…see…? You couldn't do those amazing things you showed on TV several months ago…and that shows what a weakling you are…right? "

"Unnhhh…"

"Look at that…he couldn't even fight back…"

"It shows that he's only good with Heroman around…now he's nothing but a weak puppy…"

"Listen up…don't you dare show your face at school…or you'll be sorry…Center City Middle School is better off without you…we'll be the heroes and not a punk like you…"

"Nnnhhh…"

"And you stay away from Lina…she's better off with a real man like me…and if you get close to her…we'll bang more than just your freakin' head…"

As the leader pummels Joey's rib area with the pipe, the attackers' assault came to a halt when a car came and its headlights flashed which forces them to make a run for it, and there the driver of the car emerged, revealing to be Lina's father, who just arrived after a late-night meeting with some businessmen. With him is another businessman who promptly uses his cellphone and called the police while Mr. Davis checks on Joey, shocked to see his state and tries to rouse him from falling unconscious by speaking to the boy.

"Damn hooligans…attacking someone…"

"Hey…Davis, look…that's Joey Jones…whoa! He's bleeding and hurt!"

"Call for police and an ambulance!"

"Got it!"

"Joey…can you hear me? I'm Lina's dad! Try to stay awake!"

"Uhhhnnn…"

**-x-**

About 15 minutes later, at the Center city Hospital, Joey is taken to the emergency room with physicians and doctors attending to the boy while outside the emergency room, Mr. Davis and his business partner are trying to calm a shaken Lina as she insisted to come along yet her dad had to assure to her that Joey will push through, while police who were summoned are on the hunt for the attackers, baffled as to why someone would attack the 14-year old boy who just saved the world from the Skrugg invasion. Psy and Professor Danton arrived just now after getting word from Lina.

"Lina...calm down...!"

"But dad! What if...what if Joey is..."

"He will be alright, Miss Lina..."

"Lina!"

"Lina!"

"Psy! Professor Danton!"

"We came after we we got your text! Where's Joey?"

"He's inside the emergency room! Some punks beat him after he escorted me home after our date!"

"Joey..."

"Who would want to beat up someone who saved the United States of America? It doesn't make any sense..."  
>Psy wondered who would foster a grudge towards Joey, and Lina couldn't think of anyone who would be ticked off at her "love interest" while Danton wondered if there is someone who is envious at Joey thinking that he got the "fame" for saving Center City. Psy felt there might be outside parties involved since school won't start until Monday, and he could guess that street punks might be the culprits. Danton seemed to agree since Joey had no enemies at school, but then another of Joey's friends came.<p>

"I think jealous punks are the culprits...Joey doesn't have any enemies..."

"I agree...even my fellow teachers adore and respect him..."

"Perhaps, gentlemen...I might interject on something that may help us pinpoint the culprit to Joey's ambush..."

A voice of someone spoke and then showed up. It was Axel Hughes, and he was somewhat aware of what happened to Joey, apparently from some of his "contacts" within Lina's neighborhood. He spoke with the others and seem to have some narrowed leads as to who would do something to Joey.

"Ah, Mr. Hughes."

"Hello, Mr. Davis...Lina...everyone..."

"You say you know who attacked Joey?"

"I believe I do...after I checked Joey's school records and having my men observe the school...I see no one who'd be interested in making Joey their enemy...apart from some...delinquents..."

"So school bullies are possible suspects..."

"Yes..."

"And..."

"Someone Joey encountered during the time after the Skrugg landed on Earth..."

"Who would be some outsider who would...wait...I rem,ember...you don't mean...HIM?"

"Yes...the one who escaped from jail..."

Hughes believed that the attack may be caused by not only apparent jealous delinquents who envied Joey's heroic deeds, but they also felt that he may pose a threat believing that he might summon Heroman, but he suspect that there are others who want to get revenge on the teen. It is there that Hughes mentioned the name of one person he suspect might have something to do with what Jeoy is now undergoing: Dr. Minami.

"That might make sense...since Joey saved the world...Minami is furious and wanted to make a name for himself..."

"But...why would he risk exposure by attacking Joey several minutes ago..."

"Unless...he hired some bullies to do the work for him..."

"That may be a possibility..."

"Yes...that's a possibility...but we are facing a blank wall since there are no witnesses...and Mr. Davis said the attackers are wearing ski masks...so identifying the culprits will be difficult..."

Since his escape, Minami has always wanted to prove that his scientific gadgets and experiments are far superior than Heroman, but it seems that he would settle for Joey as Hughes suspect that Minami has learned of Heroman's demise, and blaming the boy for his humiliation and interference, he decided to channel his anger on him. The Davis father and daughter, Danton and Psy nodded, seeing that it may make some sense, and yet, until the culprits are caught, they can't just relay on suspicion so they'll have to wait and see if they can get answers by apprehending the fugitive scientist, and or the culprits who attacked Joey.

By then the lead surgeon came and emerged from the emergency room, and there he tells the people waiting on Joey Jones' condition.

"Excuse me...who are the boy's relatives...?"

"We're all his friends...his elder sister is out at the moment..."

"Are you the doctor who checked on Joey?"

"Yes."

"How is he?"

"We managed to patch up his wounds...and luckily he is out of danger for now."

"Thank goodness..."

"But he'll remained confined here for at least eight weeks. We need to observe him thoroughly before discharging him given that his head had just bee patched and luckily no internal hemorrhage is formed near his brain tissues. and he'll be needing a lot of rest. As much as I hate saying this...his good deeds have some costs...such as what happened to him now, as there are some people who didn't appreciate his efforts to save Center City from the invaders. For now he'll be confined at the ICU for the time being...and if within the week if he shows some improvement he'll be transferred to a private room...excuse me..."

"Thank you, doctor..."

"Thank you..."

"Oh, Joey..."

"He'll miss school for the first two weeks..."

The physician, who is also a surgeon, informs the people that Joey is out of danger and all he needed right now is rest, and he will be confined for at least two weeks so that he would recover faster. While Lina and Psy are relieved to hear this, they are not pleased with the fact that Joey will be forced to miss the first month of the school and they hoped that Joey would be their classmate so that they could hand him their notes so he would catch up. By then Mr. Davis decided that he and his daughter should go home and rest as the time now is 1 am, Sunday.

Hughes and Danton talked with each other and agreed to stay in touch with each other as they are going to try to get some lead on who attacked Joey and to discern if Dr. Minami played a role in Joey's attack or not. They couldn't let anything else happen to the boy since with Heroman no more, he is vulnerable to attacks from anyone who fosters a grudge against him for "saving the world".

**-x-**

At an unidentified area within Center City, the scene shifts to a posh house and there you can see the masked hooligans who attacked Joey, and as they removed their ski masks, they are revealed to be jockeys from Joey's school and the ones who hired them. The persons who hired the jockeys to attack Joey turn out to be Dr, Minami and Senator Tramp, and Tramp paid them well after hearing how they beat up Joey.

"Well done, boys...well done."

"A very good job you pulled..."

"No problem...glad we accepted your offer...my buddies and I really want to beat that brat...he strutted too much..."

"...and he sure looked like a wuss without his precious Heroman..."

"And ONLY I have the right to woo that beauty bitch Lina Davis."

"Yes, yes...but that's just the beginning...I have a future job for you to pull...and this time we humiliate that Joey Jones and make him look bad at the eyes of the public."

"And for that your services will be needed...in the near future, that is. Of course Senator Tramp will pay you handsomely if you accepted..."

"Sure!"

"You can count on us!"

"Call us and we'll be there!"

"Ah...another extra income coming my towards hands..."

"Okay...we'll be seeing you!"

After the jockeys left, Minami then brought out a blueprint on how to put their plans in to motion as to cause trouble within Center City while revealing that he has acquired some remains of the Skrugg technology and use them to make the city helpless so that the US President will be forced into resigning, but Tramp advises him to wait until the elections, as he intend to run for Vice President, and there he tells Minami to do with plans so that whoever the president is, he will be forced to vacate it and he will be president.

"Eh? wait for a few more months? Why?"

"In three months the election is about to begin...and so far I'm leading the tally for vice-presidency."

"So?"

"So...once the election is over, and when I'm proclaimed VP of the US of A...I'll becoming the new president in the event that something happened to whoever is the president of the US of A...and that's where you can do whatever plans you have...so that you can make the new president look like an inept fool..."

"I see...very well..."

"And once I became president...I'll use that power to give you a pardon...so you can be a free man...and have you under my employ..."

"I accept!"

"Now then...what should we do about that Joey Jones..."

"Excuse me, sirs...perhaps I can offer some ideas on how to use that boy in the next three months and how it would add more to your advantages..."

By then, Minami's secretary, Veronica, came and offered a suggestion which seemed to gauge the men's interests, seeing that she has some good ideas on how useful Joey can be to their plans.

"You have a plan, miss?"

"This is Veronica...my secretary...so you have a plan on how to use that boy to our plans?"

"Yes, sir."

"Really? If so...I'll be willing to hear it."

"Although...to pull off that plan...we wait for two months...assuming that Joey Jones is discharged from the hospital...and that's where my suggestion would come in to play..."

"Two more months?"

"Hmm...we'll have to be patient...Veronica...tell us what you have in mind..."

"Yes, tell us..."

"Very well..."

The two men listened on as Veronica tells them the elaborate way of putting the coming events in their favor so that they would succeed as they intend to take advantage of Heroman's death in putting Joey away.

**-x-**

Almost two months after the incident, Center City High School has already started the school year and thanks to Danton and Vera Collins, a recovered Joey was able to catch up the missed lectures at school and he is no longer in danger of being "left behind" academically and by the end of the second month, Joey is discharged from the hospital and is almost recovered from his injuries, and began attending classes where he is classmates with Psy and Lina again and he is hanging out with the two, and despite the hero status the other students look up to him, Joey remained humble and tells them that they should move on.

Joey and Lina became closer and are on the verge of becoming a couple, while neither one of them are aware that the jockeys who conspired with Tramp and Minami are watching, biding their time as they received instructions not to assault him until the right time comes.

**-x-**

As the week ended, Joey and Psy are walking out of school and are discussing about the events that happened, as there has been no word on Joey's attackers yet and they wonder who would want to assault him after saving the world from Skrugg invaders. Psy suspected that there are some who got jealous at his friend for his "celebrity status" which Joey finds it "cheap" and "shallow".

"Some aftermath, huh?"

"Yeah...I had no idea someone wanted to hurt me for saving the world..."

"They're probably envious of your good deeds..."

"But...that's no excuse for attacking me for no reasons..."

"So be careful..."

"I will..."

"Got to go..."

"See you tomorrow!"

After a few blocks of traveling both friends parted ways as Joey heads home so that he would go on with his part-time job, but as he passes by a vacant parking lot, the jockeys were there and started to taunt Joey on being a "weakling" now that he doesn't have Heroman by his side, though he chose to ignore them as he knows that they are just trying to get him to lose his cool, and he went on his way pretending not to notice them.

"Hey...check it out! It's Heroman's sidekick...Baby Kangaroo!"

"Hey, pipsqueak...just got out of the hospital? I hope the adult diapers fit you well!"

"I bet he is being masturbated by slut nurses!"

"Hah! He's only tough when Heroman's with him...now he's just a wuss without his "giant toy"!"

"Having a nice bump, Heroboy?"

"I bet somebody's going to kidnap him..."

"So who's going to protect you now, chump?"

"I bet he's going to cry over his dead parents!"

As Joey walked on, the jockeys, seeing that the teen boy didn't notice them, put on their ski masks and boarded their van and stealthily approached the boy and grabbed him via a sack and pulled him onboard, and with no one else noticing, Joey is kidnapped and the incident went unnoticed.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Another bad time for Joey...hospitalized and then kidnapped...<p>

At least it is revealed who attacked Joey...but now things are getting intense as this is just the tip of an iceberg...he'll encounter more trouble in the upcoming chapters.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

Joey gets into bigger trouble as new villains are introduced...who are in the employ of Senator Tramp and Dr. Minami...


	4. Joey Missing and the Election

**Struggling Aftermath**

Okay...I got a new review...so now I'm going to commence in putting on chapter 4 here...and my apologies after having this fic put off after a year...due to lack of reviews and writer's block. But now I'll see if i can make up for lost time by having Joey go through a series of dangers as Dr. Minami and Senator Tramp use him as a tool to discredit the teen and...well...you'll soon see…

With that said…HEROMAN…ATTACK!

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Previously…<span>_**

After a few blocks of traveling both friends parted ways as Joey heads home so that he would go on with his part-time job, but as he passes by a vacant parking lot, the jockeys were there and started to taunt Joey on being a "weakling" now that he doesn't have Heroman by his side, though he chose to ignore them as he knows that they are just trying to get him to lose his cool, and he went on his way pretending not to notice them.

"Hey...check it out! It's Heroman's sidekick...Baby Kangaroo!"

"Hey, pipsqueak...just got out of the hospital? I hope the adult diapers fit you well!"

"I bet he is being masturbated by slut nurses!"

"Hah! He's only tough when Heroman's with him...now he's just a wuss without his "giant toy"!"

"Having a nice bump, Heroboy?"

"I bet somebody's going to kidnap him..."

"So who's going to protect you now, chump?"

"I bet he's going to cry over his dead parents!"

As Joey walked on, the jockeys, seeing that the teen boy didn't notice them, put on their ski masks and boarded their van and stealthily approached the boy and grabbed him via a sack and pulled him onboard, and with no one else noticing, Joey is kidnapped and the incident went unnoticed.

**-x-**

Inside the van, Joey struggles to break free from his abductors' clutches but the sheer number of the masked bullies makes it impossible for the beleaguered teen to get out given that he is inside the sack, and one of the bullies injected a tranquilizer to immobilize him which slowly worked, and Joey weakened until he is sedated, and now the bullies are calmed down after seeing that the teen is in their grasps and are now on their way to Dr. Minami's new secret hideout with the intention of doing something bad to the teen.

"The brat's sedated!"

"Whoa! He's still struggling!"

"Hold him!"

"Hey...he's weakening..."

"It's working..."

"Alright..."

"Sleep tight..."

"Glad he didn't kick my face...if he did...I'd kill him..."

The van then continued to move the streets unnoticed while Joey's friend, Psy, has no idea what has befallen his classmate and would soon notice it once the next day commences and yet this would go on unnoticed as the next turn of events would soon materialize within the next couple of days, where Joey's abduction is just the start of his sufferings and where his struggles is about to begin.

**-x-**

The next day, both Psy and Lina noticed that Joey didn't attend classes and wondered what has happened to him and Lina started to get worried as she recalled that he was assaulted a few months back and Psy himself felt that something is not right yet he is unwilling to jump to conclusions so he tells Lina that after classes they are going to pay a visit to Joey's house.

"I'm worried...Joey hasn't come here yet..."

"Me too...I wonder if he's sick..."

"What do we do?"

"After classes, we pay a visit to his home..."

"Right..."

"I hope he's only down with a cold...but if he gets attacked again..."

"Psy!"

"I know...I know..."

Later within the day classes ended and the two friends leave Center City High to head for Joey's house to see if their friend is there, and are bracing themselves for anything in case Joey is not there, and hope that his grandmother is there to tell them if Joey came home last night or not, and in case he didn't, then they would make their next move should what they think is indeed something to make them worry.

**-x-**

At a secret laboratory, location unknown, the scene shows Joey strapped to a medical bed, and there Dr. Minami extracted a blood sample from the boy as he remained sedated and unconscious and Minami has his cohorts, Amanomich and Stallion, take the blood sample and get a work on it as Nick de Carlo shows up, revealed that he too is under Senator Tramp's employ and is also conspiring to discredit Joey and is leading the bullies in abducting Joey.

Veronica came and tells them that Minami's "newest projects" are nearly ready, and the scientist grinned as he is now on the verge of unleashing his vengeance at Joey and is now rubbing his hands as he will finally get "what is coming" and is delighted that, though Heroman is no more, he would settle to see the boy suffer and is hoping that Senator Tramp would keep his word once he becomes Vice President, and once the "plan" is unleashed, it would lead Tramp to presidency and use that position to pardon the scientist.

**-x-**

At Joey's house, both Lina and Psy were alarmed and filled with worry after learning from Joey's grandmother that Joey hasn't come home since last night, and are told that she has no idea where Joey went, so the two teens left and went home, assuming that he would come back tonight and hope they would expect a call from him.

But in the next two days, Psy and Lina noticed that Joey hasn't arrived at school and they decided to inform Professor Danton and Vera of the situation, which the two teachers became worried as well, and the four of them waited for classes to end and then went to the police station to have the sheriff aid them in finding Joey.

"Hmm...so Joey hasn't been home yet..."

"And if keeps getting absent like this..."

"We're worried, professor...Ms. Collins..."

"Joey's been though a lot...and I fear that the attackers might did this again..."

"Now, now..."

"Calm down, you two..."

"But..."

"But...but..."

"After classes, we go to the police station and report this..."

"It's better than becoming a nervous wreck..."

"Okay..."

"Yes, sir...yes, ma'am..."

As the police went to work, Psy recalled that Joey works at Hilly's Cafe and he and Lina went there to see if Joey is there, and when they arrived, they are surprised to see that Joey hasn't been there for two days, and both Hilly and Stan became worried too as they realized that Joey is missing and they all came to suspect that the attackers of Joey may be the ones behind it.

"What? Joey's missing?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes...he's been absent for almost a week now... "

"And we're really worried about him..."

"This is bad...after saving the world...then being attacked by masked bullies...and now this..."

"I'm going to miss my coffee is Joey hasn't been found..."

"?"

"!"

"Stan!"

"Just kidding..."

"We need to find him...we can't just rely on the police..."

"Psy is right...what if..."

Even the customers who overheard the conversation became worried as well as they knew Joey being a kind-hearted boy who never earned enemies and they too are volunteering to go and help find the missing boy, which Psy and Lina thanked them for their help, and soon the search for Joey has been commenced and this slowly turned citywide as more and more people from Joey's neighborhood join in to help find the teen boy.

**-x-**

In the next few days, the police declared that Joey is missing and are now convinced that he has been abducted, and soon every police car and investigators work around the clock to go find Joey, hoping that he wouldn't be found as a lifeless corpse dumped at a place where he would be least found. This is the last thing they expect, feeling upset that the boy who saved Earth would be targeted by individuals who are rather jealous at Joey for being a "hero."

Even at school, even Joey's classmates are worried, while Nick and the school bullies are pleased at how the turn of events go, while keeping quiet about it so as not to give themselves away, and there the bullies and Nick are at picnic area with no one else watching, and there Nick checks his watch, as he realized that by tomorrow it is election day and sensed that Senator Tramp is going to aim for the vice-presidency, and there the plan is underway.

**-x-**

In the next several days, election is in full swing, with Tramp leading the tally of votes and inspite of this, most of the attention is on Joey, who remained missing, and it has been a month and a half and Joey's absence is beginning to affect his records, and if he is not back within the end of the month he would be ineligible to advance to the next year level, and both Psy and Lina are not happy with this.

"This is bad..."

"Yeah...Joey will be forced to repeat a year if he hasn't been found..."

"I wonder who would take Joey...?"

"I'm starting to wonder if there are really bullies here in school..."

"I doubt it...no one has been harassing Joey since he came back..."

"You're right..."

"We best pray that Joey's safe...and found..."

"Yeah..."

**-x-**

By next month, Tramp won the vice presidency and is sworn in to office, and he is pleased that one of his first plans have been fulfilled and now he is awaiting Minami's plan to begin the next phase, and is hoping it would do good as he couldn't wait assume the presidency position and use it to pardon Minami and his cohorts. As he waved to the crowd, he glances at the president, who is talking with Hughes, discussing about Joey's disappearance, and mentally hoped that Minami's plans of eliminating the president would be fool-proof.

"_I got the first part of what I wanted...now I wait for Minami to make his move...and make that brat Joey suffer...then make the move that would propel me to the presidency...!_"

**-x-**

The scene shifts to a forest, and it is shown that Joey is there, slowly waking up and the first thing he noticed are several needle marks on his arms, which is shown in flashback scenes that Amanorich and Stallion have been injecting sedatives and liquid food to keep the boy sedated and keeping him from hunger, and there the boy wondered where he is, unaware that he is far from Center City.

"Where...where am I...?"

As he moved around, he was still disoriented yet he kept on going, and slowly notices that he is at an uphill forest and tries to carefully navigate himself so he won't fall, and shouts around to see if he could get help, but there were no responses, and he realized that he is alone and he had to move and try to find a way back to a city, not knowing that he is in **Colorado**, particularly at **Elk Mountains**, and as he slowly walked down, he noticed the birds are flying away, which made him wonder what is happening.

"The birds are flying away...? Why...? And where is this place...?"

As Joey wondered what is going on, he noticed that something is coming, and when he turned around, he is taken by surprise when an individual charged towards him, ramming him by his right ribcage and the impact is enough to send him rolling down the hills, and though Joey managed to grab a grass and halted his fall, he is grimacing in pain as he felt his ribcage throbbing in extreme pain.

It would soon show, in an x-ray scene, that his right ribcage has been fractured, and the scene shifts to the attacker, where he appeared to be human-looking but is clad in a battle armor where he resembled a humanoid gorilla, and there he slowly approached the injured Joey and grabbed him by his shirt and began to speak in a robotic, yet rather childish manner.

"Hello, Joey Jones...nice to bump in to you..."

"Arrghh...wh-who are...y-you...?"

"I come to beat you up."

"Eh?"

"Orders are orders..."

"N-no..."

"I am Zeroid...of the Cybernoid Five..."

"What...?"

"And I'll be the first to break you apart!"

The mechanical being, calling himself "**Zeroid**", began to punch Joey on his injured ribcage before throwing him further down the hills before the boy collided with a tree, and this further injured him as Zeroid carefully navigates his way down, intending to cause more harm to Joey as it is slowly revealed that he is a new creation of Dr. Minami, and Veronica is there to see it, informing Minami that Zeroid is now currently attacking Joey.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Hope the long wait is worth it...and though this chapter focused heavily on Joey being missing and the elections, the REAL struggle has been commenced as Joey is taken to Colorado and being at a Elk Mountains and all alone, he is now defenseless and at the mercy of Minami's new creation, a mechanical being that seemingly rivals Heroman and the teen boy has to do something to outwit his attacker.<p>

Joey is now in a fix, as he is now badly injured and with Heroman no more, he'll have to rely on his gut instinct to outrun and outwit his mechanical opponent. Can he survive it in the midst of being on a mountain?

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

Joey tries to outwit his attacker while navigating his way to get out of Elk Mountains and get help...while something BAD is about to happen at Center City...which will further put more pressure on Joey's friends...


	5. Escalation At Elk Mountains

**Struggling Aftermath**

Okay...I got a new review...so now I'm going to commence in putting on chapter 5 here...and here Joey is placed in danger as a new villain appeared at the end of last chapter and is going to instill more damage on the now-injured teen, who finds himself brought to Elk Mountains in Colorado.

Meanwhile, Something unexpected is going to happen at Center City, which will add more pressures to its citizens, including especially Psy and Lina…

With that said…HEROMAN…ATTACK!

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Previously…<span>_**

As he moved around, he was still disoriented yet he kept on going, and slowly notices that he is at an uphill forest and tries to carefully navigate himself so he won't fall, and shouts around to see if he could get help, but there were no responses, and he realized that he is alone and he had to move and try to find a way back to a city, not knowing that he is in **Colorado**, particularly at **Elk Mountains**, and as he slowly walked down, he noticed the birds are flying away, which made him wonder what is happening.

"The birds are flying away...? Why...? And where is this place...?"

As Joey wondered what is going on, he noticed that something is coming, and when he turned around, he is taken by surprise when an individual charged towards him, ramming him by his right ribcage and the impact is enough to send him rolling down the hills, and though Joey managed to grab a grass and halted his fall, he is grimacing in pain as he felt his ribcage throbbing in extreme pain.

It would soon show, in an x-ray scene, that his right ribcage has been fractured, and the scene shifts to the attacker, where he appeared to be human-looking but is clad in a battle armor where he resembled a humanoid gorilla, and there he slowly approached the injured Joey and grabbed him by his shirt and began to speak in a robotic, yet rather childish manner.

"Hello, Joey Jones...nice to bump in to you..."

"Arrghh...wh-who are...y-you...?"

"I come to beat you up."

"Eh?"

"Orders are orders..."

"N-no..."

"I am Zeroid...of the Cybernoid Five..."

"What...?"

"And I'll be the first to break you apart!"

The mechanical being, calling himself "**Zeroid**", began to punch Joey on his injured ribcage before throwing him further down the hills before the boy collided with a tree, and this further injured him as Zeroid carefully navigates his way down, intending to cause more harm to Joey as it is slowly revealed that he is a new creation of Dr. Minami, and Veronica is there to see it, informing Minami that Zeroid is now currently attacking Joey.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Now…<span>_**

As Zeroid is slowly navigating the slopes, Joey mustered the willpower to fight off the pain on his ribs and slowly gets up and tries to walk down the slopes to get away from his attacker, holding onto the grasses to balance himself while clutching his right ribcage, feeling the pain worsening and yet he had no choice but to bear it lest he get caught and get further beating from his mysterious attacker.

"_C-can't...let him...get me...got to...bear the pain...get away from him...and get help..._"

However, Zeroid leaped onto Joey and began to throttle him senseless, and because he is a mechanical being, his metallic fists pounding Joey's body further aggravated his injuries and both rolled down the slopes and yet Zeroid managed to grab a tree and halted his fall, but the teen rolled down further and feel onto an open road, though he is still on a higher part of the mountain, and he landed badly on his right ribcage side, injuring him further.

"AAAARRRGGGGHHH!"

Luckily, Zeroid was unable to tell which direction Joey fell, and so he had to navigate his way down the slope but went to a different direction, missing a few centimeters which would give Joey the chance to slip away from his attacker unseen.

"Joey Jones...you can't get away...'coz I won't let you get away...or else I'll get in your way...as I'll do things my way...and tonight's my lucky day..."

**-x-**

Back at Center City, both Psy and Lina are feeling worried, and concerned, as a month and a half have passed since Joey disappeared, Vera Collins sadly told them that Joey is now in danger of being "dropped" and will be forced to repeat the school year unless he shows up this month, and other than that, there is nothing more they can do, and as the teacher left, the two teen friends glanced at each other and are wondering what they should do in order to find Joey and save him from getting "flunked".

"Joey..."

"He'll be forced to repeat the school year if he isn't found..."

"What should we do now, Psy? Up until now Joey hasn't been found yet...!"

"We pray...that's all we can do for now, Lina..."

"Joey..."

"I sure wish we get some good news...we can't let this happen to Joey...I have a strong feeling that the ones who attacked Joey may be the ones behind his disappearance..."

"But why would they...?"

"Jealousy...or maybe because it's the bullies who...well, let's try going to Professor Danton;s lab...maybe he could cook up with something that would help in this matter..."

"Yeah...I guess that's all we can do for now..."

The two teens then decided to leave school and head for Professor Danton's lab to see if the professor could offer any suggestions that would help them give clues as to figure out where Joey could be found so they can get a lead and start finding him once they figured it out, unaware of their friend already in a precarious, and dangerous, life-and-death situation. As they are on the road, Psy's cellphone rang and the teen answered it, and the caller is Professor Danton himself, and the tone of the professor's voice was that of being concerned, and panicking.

"Hello...?"

"Psy! it's me!"

"Professor...? Why with that tome? You sounded like you got a heart attack or something..."

"It's Joey...!"

"Has Joey been found..."

"Yes...but not in the way we expected...he's on the news right now...and in a bad light!"

"What do you mean?"

"Head to my lab...and there you'll see what I mean!"

Psy was quite bewildered after hearing this and tells Lina that they should head to the lab so that they could get more info from the teacher and to know whether what he just heard is true or not, with a visibly confused Lina coming along.

**-x-**

Still at Elk Mountains, Joey stayed under a ledge of a thick rock that is affixed above of a mountain wall, and as the hour passed, he felt that Zeroid may have missed him and is gone, so he slowly went out of his hiding place and slowly walked the road and after a thorough observation, he deduced that the road going down would lead him to an open road where vehicles passed, and he slowly took that path in hopes of getting help.

"_N-not...good...it'll take me the whole month to get to a city by foot...especially when I'm injured like this..._"

Joey was not feeling good, as his injured ribcage prevented him from walking fast, and prayed that Zeroid wouldn't notice his presence, and he walked slowly on the path, and the walk took almost two hours, and while walking, he recalled that he has the controller disc that he used when Heroman was alive and when he reached his secret pocket, he was relieved that it was still there, and thanked mentally that the kidnappers didn't figured it out, and now he may have the chance to defend himself.

"_Thank goodness it's still here...the kidnappers didn't noticed it...wait...maybe..._"

Recalling that using the controller would give him "super speed", Joey is pondering of using it, but then he saw a passing van and he waved, which caught the driver's attention, and the van stopped, where the driver peered out of the window and a conversation took place.

"H-hey...!"

"Huh? What are you doing out here this late...?"

"N-need ride...to the city...need...talk...to sheriff..."

"Are you hurt or something, kid?"

"Y-yeah...came from Center City...was taken here by force..."

"Wait...Center City...? Wait a minute...I know you..you're that Joey Jones...the kid who saved the world!"

"Yes...that's me...but can you tell me where I am...?"

"You're in Colorado..."

"What...I'm in Colorado?"

"Yeah...and this is Elk Mountains...huh?"

By then the van's radio blared where the news stated that the U.S. President was "murdered by Joey Jones and Heroman" about an hour ago and is currently at the U.S. Senate and killed several politicians there, and yet the driver is baffled that he is facing Joey in the heart of Elk Mountains in Colorado, and even Joey himself is surprised to hear this.

"What the...?"

"How...I'm here and yet..."

"So you're...wait...if that really happened...why are you here and..."

"I see...I was taken here..."

"Eh?"

"I'm...being...framed..."

"Hey! Are you hurt?"

"Y-yes..."

By then, Joey's body began to show signs of his injuries getting worse, and when the driver checked the teen's body, he saw the boy's right ribcage swelling further, and sensed that something is amiss, as the Joey Jones who is terrorizing Center City, is not what it appeared to be and decided to offer Joey a ride to the main city of Colorado and there he can offer to take him to the sheriff there so as to clear out the matter, which Joey agreed with, wanting to clear his name.

However, Zeroid appeared, and blocked the path with Joey surprised to see that the enemy is still around, and the driver sensed that Joey is in danger and attempted to protect the boy.

"Hey...hold it...I want the boy...he's my toy...!"

"What the hell...?"

"T-that thing...he did this to me...!"

"Seriously?"

"Hand him over...and we can settle this matter..."

"I don't know what's going on...but if you want this kid...sorry...he's coming with me!"

"Really...too bad...but I won't be sad...'coz I'm going to keep the lad...and seeing you take him out of here would make me mad..."

"Eh...?"

Zeroid then aimed his right hand at the van, where his fingers showed that it has stored "finger-missiles", and fired, hitting the van which it exploded, and the driver was instantaneously killed, while the impact of the blast and explosion sent Joey falling off the road and down the slope further, and shrapnel wounds struck his upper body, causing flesh wounds to appear and blood is seen staining his striped shirt.

"AAAAIIIEEE!"

As Zeroid is laughing at his "victory", he soon came to realize that he is supposed to keep the boy from leaving Colorado so he slides down the slope and attempts to go after the boy and see if he can keep him out of passing civilians' eyes.

**-x-**

Back at Center City, the scene shifts to Danton's lab, and the time is 5 pm, and there the professor, along with Lina and Psy, watched the TV where a live news is being broadcasted, and the trio are in a state of disbelief at what they are seeing, as **Keisha Jackson** is reporting live where the U.S. President was murdered in cold blood and was shown how he was killed, and the footage showed Joey Jones using the "controller gauntlet" to fire a laser blast which decapitated the president and then fired another laser blast that struck the "Presidential Family", killing the First Lady and her two children before fleeing the scene, and additional footage showed that he is fighting off the President's security forces, and is using the gauntlet's "forcefield" to shield himself and flee from the scene.

"No way...!"

"It...it can't be...Joey wouldn't..."

"That was my initial reaction...but after seeing him summon his gauntlet...and seeing him using it to get away from the presidential Security Force...I feel like wanting to believe it was Joey...but the other part of me doesn't want to believe Joey would do this..."

"I have a feeling that the one we see isn't Joey...he went missing only to show up doing this..."

"Psy...What do we..."

"Wait...another newsflash is about to be aired..."

"Huh?"

"What the..."

"No way..."

The next news footage shows that Joey Jones appeared at the U.S. Senate House 30 minutes later and there he did the same, killing a vast majority of the senators, governors and congressmen, leaving the US political party in a disarray and this would soon cause a chain reaction that would put the United States of America in a state of emergency, and there the Pentagon announced that Joey Jones is a wanted person and will be treated as a "terrorist", which they are going to stop him, dead or alive.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Okay...quite a shocker. While Joey is having problems of his own while stuck in Colorado, another Joey Jones shows up in Center City and murdered the U.S. President and his family inside the White House, and just killed a majority of politicians at the senate house, and is now a wanted felon which would involve the U.S. Army in stopping Joey. What gives?<p>

This is certainly a cliffhanger and would add a lot of mystery to this situation.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

Joey tries to survive his latest ordeal while Psy and Lina are being approached by Hughes and tells them that Joey has "gone mad" which would put the two teens in a state of "doubt" as they still believe that Joey can still be reasoned with...


	6. Emergency Crisis, Escaping Elk Mountains

**Struggling Aftermath**

Okay...I got new reviews...so now I'm going to commence in putting on chapter 6 here...and here Joey is again placed in danger as Zeroid attacked using "finger missiles" that caused a van to explode and the impact sends Joey falling from the hills of Elk Mountains in Colorado, putting in to question on whether he survives the fall or not, but this certainly caused some damage to his body has shrapnel hit most parts of his body.

Meanwhile, something unexpected has happen at Center City, which will add more pressures to its citizens, including especially Psy and Lina…after witnessing on live TV that "Joey Jones" has massacred the U.S. President and most of the senators at the Senate House...which now raises the question on how this has happened and who is behind all this...in which the answers will slowly be shown below...

With that said…HEROMAN…ATTACK!

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Previously…<span>_**

Recalling that using the controller would give him "super speed", Joey is pondering of using it, but then he saw a passing van and he waved, which caught the driver's attention, and the van stopped, where the driver peered out of the window and a conversation took place.

"H-hey...!"

"Huh? What are you doing out here this late...?"

"N-need ride...to the city...need...talk...to sheriff..."

"Are you hurt or something, kid?"

"Y-yeah...came from Center City...was taken here by force..."

"Wait...Center City...? Wait a minute...I know you..you're that Joey Jones...the kid who saved the world!"

"Yes...that's me...but can you tell me where I am...?"

"You're in Colorado..."

"What...I'm in Colorado?"

"Yeah...and this is Elk Mountains...huh?"

By then the van's radio blared where the news stated that the U.S. President was "murdered by Joey Jones and Heroman" about an hour ago and is currently at the U.S. Senate and killed several politicians there, and yet the driver is baffled that he is facing Joey in the heart of Elk Mountains in Colorado, and even Joey himself is surprised to hear this.

"What the...?"

"How...I'm here and yet..."

"So you're...wait...if that really happened...why are you here and..."

"I see...I was taken here..."

"Eh?"

"I'm...being...framed..."

"Hey! Are you hurt?"

"Y-yes..."

By then, Joey's body began to show signs of his injuries getting worse, and when the driver checked the teen's body, he saw the boy's right ribcage swelling further, and sensed that something is amiss, as the Joey Jones who is terrorizing Center City, is not what it appeared to be and decided to offer Joey a ride to the main city of Colorado and there he can offer to take him to the sheriff there so as to clear out the matter, which Joey agreed with, wanting to clear his name.

However, Zeroid appeared, and blocked the path with Joey surprised to see that the enemy is still around, and the driver sensed that Joey is in danger and attempted to protect the boy.

"Hey...hold it...I want the boy...he's my toy...!"

"What the hell...?"

"T-that thing...he did this to me...!"

"Seriously?"

"Hand him over...and we can settle this matter..."

"I don't know what's going on...but if you want this kid...sorry...he's coming with me!"

"Really...too bad...but I won't be sad...'coz I'm going to keep the lad...and seeing you take him out of here would make me mad..."

"Eh...?"

Zeroid then aimed his right hand at the van, where his fingers showed that it has stored "finger-missiles", and fired, hitting the van which it exploded, and the driver was instantaneously killed, while the impact of the blast and explosion sent Joey falling off the road and down the slope further, and shrapnel wounds struck his upper body, causing flesh wounds to appear and blood is seen staining his striped shirt.

"AAAAIIIEEE!"

As Zeroid is laughing at his "victory", he soon came to realize that he is supposed to keep the boy from leaving Colorado so he slides down the slope and attempts to go after the boy and see if he can keep him out of passing civilians' eyes

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Now…<span>_**

Back at Center City, the scene shifts to Danton's lab, and the time is 5 pm, and there the professor, along with Lina and Psy, watched the TV where a live news is being broadcasted, and the trio are in a state of disbelief at what they are seeing, as **Keisha Jackson** is reporting live where the U.S. President was murdered in cold blood and was shown how he was killed, and the footage showed Joey Jones using the "controller gauntlet" to fire a laser blast which decapitated the president and then fired another laser blast that struck the "Presidential Family", killing the First Lady and her two children before fleeing the scene, and additional footage showed that he is fighting off the President's security forces, and is using the gauntlet's "forcefield" to shield himself and flee from the scene.

"No way...!"

"It...it can't be...Joey wouldn't..."

"That was my initial reaction...but after seeing him summon his gauntlet...and seeing him using it to get away from the presidential Security Force...I feel like wanting to believe it was Joey...but the other part of me doesn't want to believe Joey would do this..."

"I have a feeling that the one we see isn't Joey...he went missing only to show up doing this..."

"Psy...What do we..."

"Wait...another newsflash is about to be aired..."

"Huh?"

"What the..."

"No way..."

The next news footage shows that Joey Jones appeared at the U.S. Senate House 30 minutes later and there he did the same, killing a vast majority of the senators, governors and congressmen, leaving the US political party in a disarray and this would soon cause a chain reaction that would put the United States of America in a state of emergency, and there the Pentagon announced that Joey Jones is a wanted person and will be treated as a "terrorist", which they are going to stop him, dead or alive.

By then, Danton's cellphone rang and the teacher answered it while activating the loudspeaker, and the caller is revealed to be Hughes, and there he asked Danton if he is aware of what is happening, which he told that he just saw the news and admitted that he is confused at this time as to how this happened when Joey is missing for three months and now he shows up and committed several counts of murder to the President and the senators, and told Hughes that he is not sure what to make of this.

Hughes sadly, and out of concern, told Danton that based on the live footage, it is no doubt that Joey has "turned bad" and in an ironic twist of fate, was able to mysteriously "revived" Heroman and is now using him to commit heinous crimes, and that Hughes sadly told Danton that the US Army will have to use "deadly force" to stop Joey and Heroman, dead or alive, and told him that at this point, the US Army, along with all local authorities, will implement the "shoot-to-kill" directive, which made Psy and Lina shocked, and confused, as they still couldn't comprehend that Joey would turn in to this.

"No way..."

"I'm sorry, Danton...but the U.S. Army...along with the local authorities of every state...they all agreed to find, hunt and shoot Joey if on sight...I can't do anything beyond this point..."

"But...Joey wouldn't do that...!"

"I know..."

"We know it's not him!"

"I understand...but we all saw what happened on live TV..."

"But..."

"Be ready for anything...the worst case scenario may about to happen..."

"Okay..."

As Hughes cut the line, Danton turned to the two teenagers and sadly told them that the live footage they seen is evidence itself, and that the way he acts, it is no doubt that Joey has "gone mad", which he took it back when he recalled how Heroman "died" and that Joey wouldn't do this after the recent incidents that has happened to him, which Psy supported this, having a feeling that the Joey Jones who murdered the president doesn't appeared to be what he is, feeling that he may be an impostor, or at least, being controlled.

"We have a HUGE problem..."

"We still don't think Joey would..."

"Psy's right..it's impossible..."

"But...we all saw it..."

"Danton...we were all there when Heroman sacrificed himself to save Earth..."

"Yes..."

"And Joey was assaulted before he went missing...and from what I deduced...the Joey we saw on TV murdering the president is an impostor..."

"I agree!"

"You may be right...we have to think of a way to expose that guy...but we have to be prepared in case he turn out to be Joey himself..."

"Professor Danton!"

"Okay, okay..."

The trio then began to think of ways to know if Joey is really the Joey they knew, and if he is an impostor, they have to find a way to expose him so that the REAL Joey Jones' name would be cleared of any wrong doing, though they are unaware that the REAL Joey is currently at Elk Mountains and in grave danger given the extent of his injuries at the hands of his attacker, who is sill going after the teen boy.

**-x-**

At the National Intelligence Agency, Axel Hughes is sitting on a chair in front of his table, watching the footage of what happened at the White House, where Keisha Jackson and her cameraman, Leo, bear witnessed to what happened that resulted in a political chaos where the Presidential Family was killed in cold blood and the cameras showed how the culprit, Joey Jones, committed and showed his "sadistic side", though Hughes still believes that Joey may have been controlled by someone, yet he is "powerless" at this point as the situation is, for now, beyond his control as the U.S. Army and the local authorities are now set to hunt down Joey.

"_How could this happen...? Is Joey really...? Perhaps he's been controlled by someone since he went missing...I hope he's an impostor...and if He really turn bad...aaarrgh! I don't know what to think at this point!_"

**-FLASHBACK-**

At the White House, The U.S. President and his family are being interviewed by Keisha Jackson and it was live on TV, and everything went well until an unexpected scene showed up, where Joey Jones turned up, and this surprised them as they are aware that Joey was reported missing and a national search was up for him, and this certainly became a shock that Joey turned up all of the sudden, and he seemed to be fine, and the President is the first to greet him, and the boy greeted in return, until he activated his "controller gauntlet" and fired a laser that caused the President's head to explode, and his headless, bloody body fell to the ground, shocking the first lady and her children, and Joey did the same to them, and the Presidential Family is dead, and there Joey told Keisha to let the world know what has happened before taking his leave, with Keisha shocked at the sight she just saw.

As Joey is about to leave the White House, the Presidential Security Force attempted to stop him, but Joey activated his gauntlet to give him "super speed" and left the scene, which puts the United States in a state of shock, and soon the footage of this became viral all over the world, and Keisha herself reluctantly reported the incident which viewers were shocked by what has happened to the President, and soon opinion is divided over Joey's actions.

Soon after two hours, the Senators inside the Senate House are discussing about what just happened, and there Joey showed up, and there he shocked everyone inside when he "summoned" Heroman and unleashed terror as he and Heroman began to slaughter the senators, governors, and even low-level politicians, while sparing the reporters so that their "deeds" would be broadcasted all over the world before he and Heroman took their leave, leaving reporters stunned and in disbelief as they are forced to report what just transpired.

**-END FLASHBACK-**

Hughes also believes that the Heroman who is with Joey may be a fake given that he saw how Heroman died during his last battle against Gogorr, yet he is conflicted seeing how Joey "operated" Heroman, and now he is unsure what to believe, and is thinking of a way to neutralize the two without harming Joey, as he intend to subdue the boy so he can have doctors and scientists check and see if Joey is really controlled or brainwashed, and if he is correct, they may be a way to clear the boy's name.

"_I hope my theory is right about Joey being controlled...it has to be... Go help us all..._"

By then, his assistant came and told Hughes that Joey and Heroman are seen within the Washington DC area, and they have just destroyed a daycare center and murdered innocent children and that the SWAT Team are currently dealing with the two, and Hughes took a deep breath as he realized that subduing Joey will not be as easy as he initially thought, so for now he has to let the authorities deal with the matter right now.

**-x-**

At Elk Mountains, hours have passed and the time now is 19:00, and it was dark, pitched dark and cold, yet things appeared to be calm as very few vehicles passed by and neither of them are aware of what transpired hours ago, and continued to pass their usual route, but the calm was interrupted as the scene shifts to a forest right below the feet of the mountain, as bats and nocturnal birds are flying away from the trees, and the scene zooms in, where it showed that Zeroid is smashing tree after tree just to find Joey, believing that he is nearby the area.

"Joey Jones...Joey Jones...come on out...you're making me shout...show yourself or else I break you snout!"

Thankfully, despite his mechanical build, Zeroid was proved to be a scatterbrain and wrongfully went to another direction, missing the other route where the injured Joey is, and there Joey saw a bear (actually, a cub) his size and then came up with an idea though he is against it, as he placed his jacket on the cub and had it go to the direction where Zeroid went, and Joey wobbly went to the other route, and clutched his upper body, as he is slowly bleeding due to the wounds he got from the exploding van and falling down the slope.

"_Darn...hope I can make it out...got to...let Center city...and America know...that I've...been...framed..._"

As Zeroid is navigating his way he saw what appeared to be Joey and went after it, firing his "finger missiles" and hit the target on its legs, and as he approached it, he is rather taken aback at what he saw.

"Eh? Joey Jones turned into a bear...? is he a werewolf or something...?"

By then, Veronica showed up and told Zeroid that it is just a cub wearing Joey's jacket, and as Zeroid is about to recommence his search, Dr. Minami called and told Zeroid to wait until sunrise arrive, as he has other plans on how to find Joey, as the scientist believes that the boy won't be able to get that far given the injuries he sustained.  
>Elsewhere, Joey sneaked inside a delivery truck and hid under the covers, and patiently waited for the coast to be clear, but he slowly drifted to sleep due to exhaustion,. not noticing that the truck slowly moved as it is heading to other parts of Colorado, not knowing that Joey is stowed at the back of the truck.<p>

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Hope you like it...and though this chapter focused heavily on Joey committing a murder spree and that Heroman appeared and aided him, it is obvious that they are not real, for the REAL Joey Jones is still at Colorado, and he narrowly escaped Zeroid's onslaught, but the REAL struggle is just starting, as Minami is having more plans to keep Joey from leaving Colorado.<p>

Will the US Army be able to stop the "other" Joey, who seem to possess the same "controller gauntlet" to keep his attackers at bay? And with a "fake" Heroman by his side, will this Joey Jones be stopped?

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

Joey Jones arrived at another part of Colorado, where he is attacked by another mechanical being, while the "other" Joey Jones struck headlines as he shows up in other parts of the world, murdering several world leaders and caused destruction to a country...


	7. Winged Assassin, Global Genocide

**Struggling Aftermath**

Okay...I got new reviews...and this further inspired me to rev up the next chapter, so now I'm going to commence in putting on chapter 7 here...and here Joey gets a respite as he sneaked at thew back of a delivery truck, which the vehicle took off unaware of the "extra baggage", but despite the respite, this certainly give Joey much to be relieved as the beating he got from the hands of Zeroid caused some damage to his body has shrapnel hit most parts of his body.

Meanwhile, something VERY unexpected is going to happen, and its not only taking place at Center City, but also at a certain part of Southeast Asia which will add more pressures to its citizens, including especially the WORLD LEADERS from the United Nation…after witnessing on live TV that "Joey Jones" has massacred the U.S. President and most of the senators at the Senate House...which now raises the question on how they are going to address this...in which the answers will slowly be shown below...

And lastly...a new villain makes his debut much like Zeroid did...and this again puts Joey in danger...

With that said…HEROMAN…ATTACK!

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Previously…<span>_**

At Elk Mountains, hours have passed and the time now is 19:00, and it was dark, pitched dark and cold, yet things appeared to be calm as very few vehicles passed by and neither of them are aware of what transpired hours ago, and continued to pass their usual route, but the calm was interrupted as the scene shifts to a forest right below the feet of the mountain, as bats and nocturnal birds are flying away from the trees, and the scene zooms in, where it showed that Zeroid is smashing tree after tree just to find Joey, believing that he is nearby the area.

"Joey Jones...Joey Jones...come on out...you're making me shout...show yourself or else I break you snout!"

Thankfully, despite his mechanical build, Zeroid was proved to be a scatterbrain and wrongfully went to another direction, missing the other route where the injured Joey is, and there Joey saw a bear (actually, a cub) his size and then came up with an idea though he is against it, as he placed his jacket on the cub and had it go to the direction where Zeroid went, and Joey wobbly went to the other route, and clutched his upper body, as he is slowly bleeding due to the wounds he got from the exploding van and falling down the slope.

"_Darn...hope I can make it out...got to...let Center city...and America know...that I've...been...framed..._"

As Zeroid is navigating his way he saw what appeared to be Joey and went after it, firing his "finger missiles" and hit the target on its legs, and as he approached it, he is rather taken aback at what he saw.

"Eh? Joey Jones turned into a bear...? Is he a werewolf or something...?"

By then, Veronica showed up and told Zeroid that it is just a cub wearing Joey's jacket, and as Zeroid is about to recommence his search, Dr. Minami called and told Zeroid to wait until sunrise arrive, as he has other plans on how to find Joey, as the scientist believes that the boy won't be able to get that far given the injuries he sustained.

Elsewhere, Joey sneaked inside a delivery truck and hid under the covers, and patiently waited for the coast to be clear, but he slowly drifted to sleep due to exhaustion,. not noticing that the truck slowly moved as it is heading to other parts of Colorado, not knowing that Joey is stowed at the back of the truck.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Now…<span>_**

The time now is 05:00, and it was morning, which the sun is rising up and so far the delivery truck's travel is peaceful enough as they have been driving non-stop for 10 hours and none of the driver and its two passengers (workers to be exact) are aware that Joey is on board, injured but alive.

And because the people in the truck hadn't been listening to the radio, they have no idea what just happened to Center City and Washington D.C., hence they are unaware that the U.S. President is dead.

However, the passenger opened the truck's radio and there he and the driver heard the news, and they are rather confused and in disbelief as they too have witnessed Joey and Heroman's actions in saving the Earth, and the United States, which caused a debate between the two, who are divided in opinion over Joey's "recent actions", unaware that the Joey Jones who murdered the president is an impostor of sorts.

"Joey Jones...sounds familiar..."

"That's the kid who saved the world..."

"And last night I heard he murdered the president and massacred the senate..."

"What the heck happened...? Why would he..."

"I'm betting that the kid's success got to his head..."

"Wait a minute...I heard that he went missing a few months ago..."

"Maybe that when he showed up..."

"Sigh...I guess too much fame can be poisonous..."

By then the delivery truck arrived in **La Veta**, which is located at deep south of Colorado, which the place is known for town's association with mining claims such as the abandoned mining camp of **Ojo**, which is located a few miles from the town and whose concrete foundations can still be seen upon close inspection.

As they are arriving at a mine located at **Chacuaco Creek Mine**, it showed that it was a rather forest-like, with several trees, and most of the people seen there are mine workers, and when the truck arrived, the driver and passengers got off and removed the covers from the compartment, only to be surprised to see an injured Joey waking up, and are surprised to see his clothes bloodstained and the wounds that are still present.

"What the...?!"

"Hey! What are you doing in there?"

"Jeez! What's happened to you?"

"You got hurt or something?"

"Never mind that! Help me put this kid down and call for help!"

"Okay!"

"Got it!"

"Easy, kid...easy..."

The driver and two workers got Joey off the truck and place him on the ground and brought out some bandages and water to tend his wounds, and when Joey told them his name, the driver was surprised and assumed that he is on the run from the government and told the youth of his crimes which surprised him and there Joey told them what really happened to him, and another mine worker arrived with a newspaper and Joey took a look at it, and he too was equally surprised, and told them that he was brought here unconscious and how he got the wounds.

However, the mine workers are skeptical of the youth's claims until a radio, was blared which a reporter claimed that Joey is seen at the military base of Hawaii, and there the mine workers stared wide-eyed in surprise, seeing that Joey is in front of them and that the live radio feed stated that another Joey is terrorizing Hawaii, and are now starting to believe the REAL Joey, and decided that they need to report to the county sheriff of Colorado that there are TWO Joey's, and felt that this might solve the mystery of what's happening.

"Son of a bitch..."

"This can't be..."

"If you're Joey Jones...then who's that Joey Jones that is seen in Hawaii..?"

"Tarnation...looks like I smell a conspiracy here..."

"Wait...kid...do you have a twin brother or something...?"

"No...I don't have a twin..."

"I get it! The Joey Jones who is in Hawaii must be an impostor!"

"I see...we'd better take you to the city sheriff and there we can prove that you're innocent and that an impostor is wrecking havoc! Stick with us and we'l help you clear your name!"

"Thanks..."

However, before they made their move, someone came and this surprised everyone, as the new entrant is seen flying in the air, and as it landed it grabbed the two workers by their necks and strangled them, crushing their necks before tossing them aside, and Joey stared wide-eyed, seeing that this is another mechanical being, in which the assailant's appearance bears a sinister look. It had the head and face of a falcon, while its body, along with wings, resembled that of a gargoyle.

"Joey Jones...I found you!"

"Are you...?"

"Yes...one of the "Cybernoid Five"..."

"What...? "Cybernoid Five"...?"

"I will make sure you will not leave alive...and this place will be your burial ground..."

"Then you're also behind this impostor thing!"

"It matters not...you will stay here forever...as a corpse!"

"No...!"

"Remember my name! I am Falconoid!"

The assailant, who identified himself as "**Falconoid**", proclaimed that Joey will never leave Colorado and will "break" him apart, and there Joey slowly guessed that his being brought here may have something to do with what is happening at the White House, and now in Hawaii, and he braces himself at the eventuality but then the driver took Joey and had him placed inside the truck while the other mine workers blocked Falconoid's path while urging the truck driver to take Joey out of here and alert the Colorado police and tell them about the deception so the REAL Joey's name can be cleared.

"Kid...inside!"

"But...!"

"No buts! You saw what that flying freak did to my fellow workers! And that thing might be connected to the recent incidents! We need to stay alive so that we can prove your innocence! And I'm the only witness you have to help you clear your name!"

"But...what about the others...? That mechanical thing's too strong for them to hold it...!"

"See what they're doing? They're buying us time to get away!"

"..."

"Buckle up, kid...it's going to be a tense and rocky ride...!"

Despite Joey's protest, seeing that the mine workers would be no match for the "mechanoid", the driver cruises off as the workers stall the attacker which gave the truck a ten-minute head-start to allow Joey to make a getaway, but as Joey had stated, Falconoid is physically stronger, and tossed the mine workers aside and is about to pursue his targets when other mine workers join in, using rifle shotguns and even dynamites to stop him, but they have no effect, much to Falconoid's amusement and irritation.

"Amusing...yet irritating...begone, worthless insects!"

Using a pair of optic blasts, Falconoid made short work of the workers, killing all of them before he resumes his pursuit, and like his namesake, the "mechanoid" can fly as fast like a falcon and soon he is able to spot the truck conversing the road beneath a forest, and there he uses his optic blasts to strike the truck down, but the driver managed to evade them, though the misfire struck the trees that caused a forest fire.

"Whoa!"

"Blast!"

"Hold on. kid...we're making a breakthrough!"

"Ahh!"

"I know...you're wounds are still fresh...but you got to stay strong...only you can stop that impostor from tarnishing your name..."

"Damn! Why did this happen?"

"All happens with a reason...just face it and move forward...now hold on tight!"

"Whoa!"

As the driver stepped on the gas and cruised faster, the truck is now gaining speed to reached the end of the forest and towards the open road, hoping that the thick smoke would keep their pursuer distracted and get a huge head-start, but then they heard a loud "thud" on the roof of the truck, where it was slowly being peeled open, and it was Falconoid, who ripped the ceiling apart and took Joey before flying off, firing an optic blast at the truck that the vehicle to explode, and killing the driver in the process.

"The driver!"

"Now you're next!"

"I won't let you end my life!"

"Too bad it will! For I will take the honor of taking your life!"

"I won't give in to the likes of you!"

"Then feel my wrath!"

"AAARRRGGGH!"

"Now feel the pain!"

As Falconoid began to beat up Joey, raking his upper body and caused more open wounds on his arms, back and chest, the teen boy withstood the pain and grabbed the controller device from his secret pocket and activated it, and the "gauntlet" was formed on his left forearm and there he managed to fire a laser that struck the winged assailant on its face, managing to break free and yet he is falling down fast.

"AARRRGHH! Curse you!"

"Aaaahhhh! Forcefield On!"

Pressing the "orb" on his "gauntlet", Joey activated his "forcefield" and has shielded himself yet he is falling fast, and there he fell down on what appeared to be a cliff, but the "forcefield" shielded him from harm before a rather rough landing and there he deactivated his "forcefield", and looked around, seeing that he is standing at a cliff and down below was a long way down towards a raging river, unaware that he is now at **South Plate River**, which is located still at Colorado.

"I wonder...am I still in Colorado...?"

As Joey is about to walk away and find help, Falconoid appeared and grabbed the boy by his hair and began punching him senseless like a punching bag, and the boy wobbled in pain and yet managed to fire his "gauntlet" laser and struck the "mechanoid" by his chest, but Falconoid fired his "optic blast" and struck Joey on his left chest, near his lungs, and the teen boy fell off from the cliff.

"AAAAIIIEEEE!"

After a minute Falconoid regained his senses and looked at the edge below, seeing the river flowing endlessly and slowly flew down, commencing his search for the injured boy but so far has found nothing and continued his search without stopping.

**-x-**

The scene shifts to Hawaii, where its capital, Honolulu, is slowly being laid to waste as "Joey Jones" and "Heroman" have destroyed its U. S. military base and leaves the country defenseless, and worse of all, the two even destroyed its local authorities (police to be exact), and caused massive damages to its infrastructures (government buildings, private properties and even malls). Many lives were lost and this caused a pandemic panic among its populace, and in less than three hours the population is now reduced to only 1/4, and the survivors are swimming to the open seas just to get away, and many more began to perish due to drowning and being feasted upon by sharks.

"Ahh...what a sight to behold..."

After seeing that he is satisfied, "Joey" tells "Heroman" that they are now moving to its next destination, and left the country in ruins and in panic, and the reporters who survived the onslaught, are forced to report the incident, which is again went viral to the news worldwide, slowly "cementing" the fact that "Joey Jones" has become a menace to the world, yet this is just the beginning of a global, and worldwide crisis.

**-x-**

In less than an hour, **Guam** is the next to be struck down, and "Joey Jones" unleashed "Heroman" on the island, attacking the military bases there, which made it looked like "Pearl Harbor", the only exception is that "Heroman" does the killing and struck both the navy and the land bases, and despite the aerial attacks from fighter planes, they are no match for "Heroman" as he effortlessly struck them down without problem, while "Joey" leaves while leaving "Heroman" doing the damage before he shortly left the scene, surprisingly sparing Guam from further damage.

Soon the Government of Guam began to assess the damage to life and property and there they declared that Guam is in a "state of calamity", and its governor contacted the United States of America and spoke to the newly-appointed president, Dummy Tramp, and there he assured the Guam Governor that he will use his resources to find "Joey Jones" and "bring him to justice", which seemed to have eased the Guam Governor yet he expressed disbelief on what has happened to Joey, which Tramp told in reply that "success has gotten to his head" and "showed his true colors", which the Guam Governor slowly accepted.

Unknown to the general populace, Tramp is in cahoots with Minami and their plans became a "moderate success" as Minami had the REAL Joey brought to Colorado and isolate him there and sent a CLONE Joey, along with using "unknown means" to "re-create" Heroman and used them to cause massive destruction to further frame and discredit Joey in the eyes of the general public, and with the REAL Joey taking the blame, Minami's plan is slowly surfacing, and Tramp took his cellphone and dialled Minami in secret.

"Hello...Minami...?"

"Yes, it's me...like my little "project"...?"

"Yes...and well done...it worked than I have expected...and the boy...? I mean the REAL..."

"He's still in Colorado...he is last sighted in South Platte River...Veronica will sens another fighter to keep him grounded..."

"Good...good...now be ready...once the military is in a pressure...I will make my move...and have you at my side...and there they will be forced to acknowledge your presence once I summoned you..."

"Good...I'm glad we forged a partnership..."

"Yes...and I'm glad we became allies..."

"I'm glad too...hee-hee-hee-hee-hee..."

**-x-**

At **Pyongnyang**, **North Korea**, the scene shifts to the island's military base, where its nuclear weapons are stored, and as scientists and its military are gloating at the United States' "hero going bad", something unexpected happened, as "Joey" shows up and killed the guards and the scientists there, while he began to tinker with the controls, and began to program the nuclear missiles to strike Hawaii, Guam, and **South Korea**, and the timer has been set to have them launched in 500 minutes, and then have two remaining missiles detonate.

In less than an hour, Heroman appeared back at the Unites States, and began to attack and disable the Pentagon, and smashed the radar systems to prevent the U.S. military from detecting the warheads, and once it was done, Heroman fled, and the scientists and technicians began to try repairing the radars, as they have no idea why Heroman did this, but after several more hours, the radars were partially restored, and just then the nuclear missiles have already been launched, and there they are shocked to see what happened.

"What the...?"

"Missiles are nearing its targets!"

"No! They're going to hit Hawaii and Guam!"

"So that's why Heroman attacked...to disable our radar systems!"

"Quick! Try to intercept the missiles!"

"No use! It's too late!"

"Damn!"

"No...! The survivors...!"

The restored radars showed that the nuclear warhead missiles have struck Guam, then in Hawaii, obliterating the islands and erased them from the map, and no survivors are shown. Then international news began to show up, with reporters reporting that **China**, along with North and South Korea were "erased from existence" as three more nuclear missiles have been launched and destroyed the three Asian counties, and there "Joey" is identified as being the one who set the missiles and had them fired at the now destroyed counties.

Worse of all, there were absolutely no survivors left and radiation began to spread at the South East Asian neighboring countries and there the United Nations chief made a personal contact with Tramp, demanding that "Joey Jones" be stopped, which Tramp appeared to be "stressed", but is just acting as this was part of his, and Minami's plans, and told the UN chief that he will address the issue.

"President Tramp..."

"Yes..."

"We want you to do something about Joey Jones..."

"Yes...yes...I'm on it...I just inspected Pentagon...I realized that the boy has let success get to his head...I'll see to it that he be stopped...dead or alive..."

"We are counting on you...many lives are lost..."

"I understand...I will get to work immediately..."

"We will hear from you later..."

"I will..."

After that, Tramp summoned his cabinet as well as the National Intelligence Agency to have an emergency meeting and discuss on how to deal with the "global crisis" at hand, smiling secretly that framing the REAL Joey worked than he has expected, and there he secretly called and told Minami to get ready, as he is about to be "summoned" for work.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Hope you like it...and though this chapter focused heavily on Joey committing a MASS murder spree which resulted in the obliteration of two US-controlled counties and three South East Asian nations though the use of nuclear missiles, it is obvious that Joey Jones and Heroman are not real, for the REAL Joey Jones is still at Colorado, and he is now the subject of question on whether he survived the fall while in South Platte River, as he is further injured by another new attacker, <strong>Falconoid<strong>.

With Dummy Tramp appointed as U.S. President, his plans have succeeded and now moves in to have Minami involved, and this will certainly add more pressure to the Unites States, with Hughes in particular, as he still believes that Joey is innocent and being controlled by someone. But with what just happened right now, will his opinion change?

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

Joey Jones is again being attacked by a new enemy while still in the "waters", while Tramp has "brought out" Minami to "help" in apprehending "Joey Jones", which would cause tension with Hughes being wary of Minami serving the president...


	8. Cabinet Meeting, Aquatic Attacker

**Struggling Aftermath**

Okay...things really get a lot tense...as the next chapter is now up, and here Joey gets another respite as he managed to get away from Falconoid, but despite the respite, Joey received a lot of beating he got from Falconoid, and the blast the enemy gave caused some damage to the teen's body while he fell from the cliff and in to the heart of a raging river. Fortunately, Falconoid couldn't find him, and hopefully Joey doesn't get drowned.

Meanwhile, something VERY unexpected is going to happen, as Dummy Tramp is making his move to have the U.S. Military mobilized and have them conduct a wide manhunt for the real Joey, after the "fake Joey" and "fake Heroman" made headlines as their "terrorism" caused extensive damage in the U.S., and its not only taking place here, but also at several parts of Southeast Asia where he obliterated several nations there, in which it caused a lot of pressures to its neighboring countries' citizens, including especially the WORLD LEADERS from the United Nation…after witnessing on live TV that "Joey Jones" has massacred the U.S. President and most of the senators at the Senate House...which now raises the question on how they are going to address this...in which the answers will slowly be shown below...

And lastly...another new villain makes his debut much like Zeroid and Falconoid did...and this again puts Joey in danger...

With that said…HEROMAN…ATTACK!

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Previously…<span>_**

The restored radars showed that the nuclear warhead missiles have struck Guam, then in Hawaii, obliterating the islands and erased them from the map, and no survivors are shown. Then international news began to show up, with reporters reporting that China, along with North and South Korea were "erased from existence" as three more nuclear missiles have been launched and destroyed the three Asian counties, and there Joey is identified as being the one who set the missiles and had them fired at the now destroyed counties.

Worse of all, there were absolutely no survivors left and radiation began to spread at the South East Asian neighboring countries and there the United Nations chief made a personal contact with Tramp, demanding that Joey Jones be stopped, which Tramp appeared to be "stressed", but is just acting as this was part of his, and Minami's plans, and told the UN chief that he will address the issue.

"President Tramp..."

"Yes..."

"We want you to do something about Joey Jones..."

"Yes...yes...I'm on it...I just inspected Pentagon...I realized that the boy has let success get to his head...I'll see to it that he be stopped...dead or alive..."

"I will..."

"I'm afraid that things have gotten too far...and this would continue if..."

"I say the same thing..."

"Please do something about the problem..."

"I will see to it! I'm assembling my cabinet and am going to formulate a plan to stop Joey Jones!"

"We are counting on you...many lives are lost..."

"I understand...I will get to work immediately..."

"We will hear from you later...please let us know if you can stop him..."

"I will!"

After that, Tramp summoned his cabinet as well as the National Intelligence Agency to have an emergency meeting and discuss on how to deal with the "global crisis" at hand, smiling secretly that framing the REAL Joey worked than he has expected, and there he told Minami to get ready, as he is about to be "summoned" for work.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Now…<span>_**

The scene shows that Tramp has arrived at the Pentagon and there the military leaders saluted the president, and there he saluted them in return, though some of the soldiers were mentally apprehensive having heard of Tramp being more than what he appeared to be, suggesting that they didn't like him, as they had a feeling that he is not the right person to be a government official, yet Tramp managed to win the election and became vice president, but with the death of the US President, and most of the senators, Tramp became the new president and is now tasked to deal with the issue, and now he is here at the Pentagon.

"Is everyone inside?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

"Has Hughes arrived?"

"Not yet."

"We're gong inside. let me know if there are any visitors coming."

"Yes, Mr. President."

"Okay...everyone...we will commence the meeting!"

"Yes, Mr. President!"

Moreover, Axel Hughes of the N.I.A. arrived and he too is wary of Tramp, feeling that he is nothing more than just a "verbal pushover" with nothing to back up his "resume", yet he had no choice because of Tramp being proclaimed the president, and now he is summoned, and Hughes knows what the reason is, as this will surely involve in "capturing" "Joey" and "Heroman", so for now he'll just have to play along and see if he could do something to quell the tension and offer his suggestion to address the issue without using excessive force to deal with the problem.

As everyone are assembled within the meeting room, Tramp made his move and told everyone that the matter has to be dealt with...swift response and began entertaining the idea of using powerful weapons to "shoot down" Joey Jones on sight, whether he would surrender or not, which Hughes anticipated this and made his presence known and made some suggestions, in which it resulted in a "word war" between the two men though Tramp is secretly enjoying this.

"...and so...I am proposing this...shoot Joey Jones...whether he lives or dies...it won't matter...as long as he is being stopped..."

"Wait, Tramp!"

"Mind your manners, Hughes...I am now the president..."

"Pardon me...but...we don't know if the one causing this is really Joey..."

"You saw what happened...and you saw how he summoned Heroman...so what else do you want to point out...?"

"We need to capture him alive...and see if he really is Joey or not..."

"Tell that to the deceased citizens of three Asian countries...and unless you can show proof...my decision stands..."

"But...!"

However, some of the generals started to "back" Tramp, as they felt that Joey has indeed "turned bad" and now he is doing "terrorism acts" which Hughes rebutted, and made it known that either Joey is being controlled or that the Joey who is terrorizing the world is an impostor, as he told them that before the crisis took place, Joey went missing and is believed to have been abducted while showing proof that Heroman died and can't be brought back, however, Tramp "neutralizes" Hughes verbally, warning that either Hughes participate in this or step down from the N.I.A, in which Hughes reluctantly went silent.

"You heard everyone's opinion, Hughes."

"But...!"

"This is something we can't ignore."

"But...!"

"A billion lives are lost...and you still believe that Joey Jones is innocent...?"

"Please hear me out!"

"I heard enough from you. Please don't try my patience. I am already stressed from watching the news and the UN gave me a lot of pressure."

"..."

By then, the military generals are suggesting using fighter jets and tanks to deal with "Heroman "and even "commandos" to deal with "Joey", which Tramp seemingly favored the idea, but then he made it known that this will be for the "first wave" as he claimed to "expect" casualties because he showed the footage of how "Joey" and "Heroman" dealt major blows to the two Korean countries, Guam and Hawaii, and then made a shocking gesture when he "introduced" Dr. Minami, as the scientist came in, which shocked Hughes and some of the generals.

"Everyone...I have brought someone who will help us in dealing with this situation. Come in...Dr. Minami."

"Good day, everyone."

"What the...?"

"Dr. Minami!"

"How did you...?"

"He's an escaped criminal!"

"Why he's here?"

"Mr. President! what is the meaning of this?!"

As Hughes demanded why Minami is here, Tramp told Hughes that he has given Minami a "full pardon" and believes in his inventions, and told everyone that Minami is "reformed" and will aid the U.S. in dealing with both "Joey" and "Heroman", reiterating that Minami's invention would "help" deal with the global problem, and as Minami "proclaims" that he is a "changed man" and will "atone" for his mistakes, Hughes himself is doubtful and slowly deduced that something is off, such as how Minami came in to contact with Tramp, and why Tramp gave Minami a "full pardon" when the scientist is a wanted man who escaped several months ago.

There Tramp have the military mobilized and ordered its generals to move out to find and kill Joey if needed, while telling Minami to come up with a "good invention" to put a "stop" to "Joey" and "Heroman's" atrocities, which Hughes clenched his fists as he sensed that there is treachery here and is starting to sense that Tramp may have played a hand that allowed Minami to escape further prosecution. For now he has no options right now apart from reluctantly work with Minami and see where this would go.

**-x-**

The scene shifts to the South Plate River, where you can see a river is moving and only waters are running, which only birds are seen flying and passing by, until the next scene zooms in, where a pair of campers are nearby the bank, getting water on their drinkers, as they are enjoying their "nature trip", and are ready to head back to their tent when a third camper shouts at his companions and there the two ruses in, where they saw a body is being washed away, and there they used a rope to tie it around the camper's waist to head for the bank to get the body, and they succeeded as the campers pulled their companion back and the scene shows that the body is that of the REAL Joey Jones, and the campers were initially unaware of the "Joey Global Incident" and they began to check his body, seeing that his wounds were still fresh.

"Hey! We need help here!"

"He looks hurt..."

"His wounds...they're serious!"

"Get me my first aid kit..."

"Here!"

"Help me put ointment and..."

"Hey!"

"That's...Joey Jones!"

"What's he doing here? And why is he beaten up like that?"

After applying ointments and bandaging his body, the campers await for Joey to wake up, and when they are contemplating on bringing him to a clinic, another camper showed, up, and he appeared to be a scientist, as he is doing research within the forests of South Plate River when he stumbled upon the scene and asked them what just happened, and there the campers told the scientist what just happened, and there another camper came and showed to them the scene he saw from his portable TV, where the campers are baffled about the news, since Joey is here and yet the Joey they saw is reported to be terrorizing other parts of Asia.

"Joey Jones did this...?"

"Is it live?"

"Wait..."

"If Joey Jones is terrorizing Asia...then why is he here?"

"This is strange..."

"What is going on here...?"

"We need to wake this boy up...maybe he can answer this..."

"I guess..."

By then, Joey rouses from his "unconsciousness" and there he slowly asked where he is, and when told, joey wobbles himself to get up, telling the campers that he must get to the authorities to let them know that he is being framed and that the Joey being hunted is an impostor, but the scientist, who introduces himself as "Doctor Shibata", told Joey that he cannot at this point and asked him why he is here and how he got the wounds, in which Joey explained all he knows, and the campers slowly believe him, which they say that it's probably better for joey to show up to the Colorado authorities to explain, and that the campers will be witnesses to this, so as to give credibility to Joey's alibi.

However, something jumped out from the water, and landed on the ground, and there the campers, and Joey are taken by surprise at the entrant who showed up, he appeared to be a "gill man"-like figure, whose face had a resemblance to a humanoid fish, and it was wielding a spear gun and has an oxygen tank-like backpack behind it, and Joey slowly gets up, sensing that the entrant is probably another mechanical being and is probably after him just like Zeroid and Falconoid.

"Ra-ha-ha-ha! I found you, Joey Jones!"

"What the...?"

"You will not leave...you will die here!"

"Are you after me? Are you with those other two?"

"Correct! I am one of the "Cybernoid Five"...!"

"Not again..."

"I am Aquanoid...and I will kill you!"

"You won't!"

The new entrant, who introduced himself as "**Aquanoid**", proclaims that South Plate River will be his "burial ground" and will never leave alive, and when one of the campers went in front of Joey, he told Aquanoid that he will not let anything happen to the boy, which the enemy snickered and made its move, which moments later, would shock Joey and the other campers.

"Acid Spray!"

Aquanoid fires a spray of liquified acid which slowly dissolves the camper and he melted away along with his bones, and Joey stared wide-eyed as he realized that not only is he in danger, but also those around him, and now he is contemplating on fighting the enemy, as he activated his "controller" and now the gauntlet is formed around his left forearm, ready to take on his opponent, not caring if he gets more bodily damage as long as he can protect those who are willing to protect him.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Hope you like it...and though this chapter focused heavily on the Pentagon and Tramp making his move, with Axel Hughes getting involved, the biggest shocker would be Dr. Minami appearing again and is now given a "full pardon" and will work with the president to deal with "Joey" and "Heroman", much to Hughes' shock and doubt, and though he suspect that there may be a connection between Minami and Tramp, he couldn't act as his hands are "tied" and all he can do right now is play along until he could gather evidence that Minami might be behind the series of crisis that puts the U.S. in a tight spot.<p>

Joey ended up in a river located in South Platte River, as though his injuries have been tended by some kind-hearted campers, he is now about to receive more injuries as he is now facing a new mechanical attacker, **Aquanoid**.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

Joey Jones is again being attacked by a new enemy while still in the "waters", which would result in the teen getting "washed away", though he will get some "help" from his "gauntlet"...

Meanwhile, Psy and Lina are informed by Hughes of the new situation and this would put the two teens in apprehension, and an unexpected situation befalls the two teens...


	9. Raging River, Abduction

**Struggling Aftermath**

Last chapter, a few things have happened mostly in Center city, as Dummy Tramp has made his move to have the U.S. Military mobilized and have them conduct a wide manhunt for the real Joey, after the "fake Joey" and "fake Heroman" made headlines as their "terrorism" caused extensive damage in the U.S., and its not only taking place here, but also at several parts of Southeast Asia where he obliterated several nations there, in which it caused a lot of pressures to its neighboring countries' citizens, including especially the WORLD LEADERS from the United Nation…after witnessing on live TV that "Joey Jones" has massacred the U.S. President and most of the senators at the Senate House...with surprising results...

Much to Axel Hughes' shocking reaction, Tramp brought in Dr. Minami, and told him and everyone else within the Pentagon that he has given the scientist "full pardon" and will participate in "finding ways" to neutralize "Joey Jones" and "Heroman", and Highes himself is caught in the middle, as he is now at the mercy of Tramp as he has to find a way to bring "Joey" back alive to know if the teen is really him or an impostor.

And lastly...at the end of last chapter, another new villain makes his debut much like Zeroid and Falconoid did...and this again puts Joey in danger as the new enemy "jumped" from the rivers of South Platte River...

With that said…HEROMAN…ATTACK!

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Previously…<span>_**

As Joey is roused from his "unconsciousness", there he slowly asked where he is, and when told, Joey wobbles himself to get up, telling the campers that he must get to the authorities to let them know that he is being framed and that the "Joey" being hunted is an impostor, but the scientist, who introduces himself as "Doctor Shibata", told Joey that he cannot at this point and asked him why he is here and how he got the wounds, in which Joey explained all he knows, and the campers slowly believe him, which they say that it's probably better for Joey to show up to the Colorado authorities to explain, and that the campers will be witnesses to this, so as to give credibility to Joey's alibi.

However, something jumped out from the water, and landed on the ground, and there the campers, and Joey are taken by surprise at the entrant who showed up, he appeared to be a "gill man"-like figure, whose face had a resemblance to a humanoid fish, and it was wielding a spear gun and has an oxygen tank-like backpack behind it, and Joey slowly gets up, sensing that the entrant is probably another mechanical being and is probably after him just like Zeroid and Falconoid.

"Ra-ha-ha-ha! I found you, Joey Jones!"

"What the...?"

"You will not leave...you will die here!"

"Are you after me? Are you with those other two?"

"Correct! I am one of the "Cybernoid Five"...!"

"Not again..."

"I am Aquanoid...and I will kill you!"

"You won't!"

The new entrant, who introduced himself as "**Aquanoid**", proclaims that South Plate River will be his "burial ground" and will never leave alive, and when one of the campers went in front of Joey, he told Aquanoid that he will not let anything happen to the boy, which the enemy snickered and made its move, which moments later, would shock Joey and the other campers.

"Acid Spray!"

Aquanoid fires a spray of liquified acid which slowly dissolves the camper and he melted away along with his bones, and Joey stared wide-eyed as he realized that not only is he in danger, but also those around him, and now he is contemplating on fighting the enemy, as he activated his "controller" and now the gauntlet is formed around his left forearm, ready to take on his opponent, not caring if he gets more bodily damage as long as he can protect those who are willing to protect him.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Now…<span>_**

The scene shows that Joey is now ready to take the fight despite the injuries he sustained, but then  
>another camper took out a shotgun rifle and opened fire at Aquanoid, but the mechanical being is unfazed as the bullet dropped down after hitting him, and you can see the bullet is already dented, and Joey knew that the campers would be killed if they get involved so he tells them to leave, but the campers refused, seeing that the REAL Joey is in danger, and would get in to bigger danger if the authorities caught him here and shoot him on sight, so they chose to defend him and would stay alive to become witnesses to prove the real teen's innocence.<p>

"Blast! Everyone...get out of here! it's me he's after! I'll handle him!"

"We're not leaving you, kid!"

"We'll help you!"

"But...!"

"You're a wanted person...and if the authorities see you, they'll just shoot you down!"

"We'll help you!"

"We're the only ones who can prove your innocence!"

"But...!"

However, Aquanoid fired his spear gun, which houses a harpoon dart and struck the other camper, hitting him by his neck and he died in an instant, and then sets his sight on Joey, as the teen boy began to tinker with his "gauntlet" to make his next move, which the campers are surprised to see Joey taking the risks just to protect them, and they are now convinced that the Joey who is with them is really genuine and the Joey who is terrorizing other countries is a fake.

"Engage!"

A force field barrier emerged around him and there Aquanoid fires his spear gun, but the harpoon just bounced off, and there Aquanoid makes his next move in an effort to get past the barrier that Joey made, confident that he would penetrate the forcefield that the teen made.

"So you think you can outsmart me, eh? Acid Spray!"

Firing streams of liquified acid, Aquanoid is surprised to see that even the Acid Spray had no effect, and there he makes his next move while Joey appeared calm and not letting his guard down, though his body is shaking due to the wounds he got despite his torso being covered in bandages.

"_Darn...I'm still in no shape to fully fight...!_"

"Then how about this? Bubble Bombs!"

Several bubbles appeared and went for the forcefield-covered Joey, which exploded upon contact and dusts covered the area, but when the dusts are cleared, Joey is still in one-piece, and is still protected by his forcefield, and there the mechanical villain appeared to get irritated but then an evil idea came to his head and shifted his attention towards a large tree and uses his Bubble Bombs at it.

"Okay...maybe this would make you change your mind...Bubble Bombs!"

The bubbles went towards the tree and exploded, and it caused the tree to tilt at its side and threatens to fall onto the campers, and there Joey is forced to deactivate his forcefield and uses his gauntlet to give him enhanced speed to move and save the campers, managing to get them out of the falling tree, but this gave Aquanoid the opening he needed, and fired his spear gun and the harpoon was fired, narrowly missing his target but the harpoon's tip grazed Joey's left cheek, and the wound was deep enough to cause bleeding.

"AAAARRRGGGGH!"

By then Aquanoid went towards the teen and the two grappled and struggled, with the mechanical villain gaining the edge and started to punch the boy away, but Joey aimed his gauntlet at his opponent and pressed the "orb", which fired a blast that sends the mechanical villain reeling, and there Joey used the gauntlet to give him enhanced speed and he began to "spear" Aquanoid, which sends him towards the raging river, but Aquanoid grabbed onto Joey's arm, which dragged him along and the two combatants are swept away by the channel, with Shibata telling the other campers that they must follow them and try to save Joey.

"Oh no!"

"The kid!"

"Everyone...let's follow them!"

"But...with the rivers traveling that fast..."

"We have to try! We can't let that boy die like this! We have to help clear his name!"

"He's right!"

"Okay, we'll help!"

"Let's go!"

And so the campers began to board their vehicles and are now going to follow the path where the directions of the raging waters lead them, and are hoping that Joey would survive the situation that has befallen the teen, worried that he might get killed knowing that he is no match for his opponent and with the wounds he has, the campers are indeed concerned that Joey sacrificed himself to save the campers knowing that he is the target and chose to take that risk to ensure the safety of others.

**-x-**

The scene shifts to the raging rivers where Aquanoid is strangling Joey as he intend to drown the boy, but Joey held on, and tries to reach the gauntlet's orb, and managed to press it to cause a laser to fire, hitting Aquanoid on his face, and the mechanical villain is forced to release his hold, and Joey swam up and managed to get his head above the water, gasping for air, and he looked around, where he realized that he is just a few minutes away from reaching the waterfall, and this would certainly put him in danger if he falls there and might get drowned by the currents.

"This is bad...! I need to get out of the waters...! Better use..."

Just as he is about to use his gauntlet to make use of his enhanced speed to get him ashore, Aquanoid emerged and began to strangle him again, and is making sure to weaken him enough to prevent escape and Joey is in danger again as he is about to be drowned by his assassin, and thinks of a way to escape his current predicament and find a way to get to the main city of Colorado to let the world know that the Joey Jones who is terrorizing the world is a fake.

"Ha-ha-ha!"

"~Gurgle...!~"

"Now you die!"

"~Gurgle...!~"

"There's no one to save you!"

"~Gurgle...!~"

"Any last words?"

"~Gurgle...!~"

Joey uses his gauntlet to fire a laser and struck Aquanoid by his eyes, and when the mechanical assassin turns around, he uses the gauntlet to fire another blast, hitting his "scuba tank" which exploded, but in turn caused shrapnel to scatter, hitting Joey's body and again he is injured and further weakened, and is unable to make a move as he is nearing the waterfall, and there the two are there, which both plunged down as they reached the end of the channel, and you couldn't tell what has become of them, whether they survived or not.

**-x-**

At Center City, Matthew Danton is seen at his lab, watching the news about "Joey" and Heroman causing more havoc and is now pondering on finding a way to summon the REAL Heroman, as the scene shifts inside is drawer, where the REAL Heroman, in toy form, is seen, which slowly revealed that when Joey is taken from the wreckage and being loaded inside an ambulance several months ago (after Gogorr was defeated), Danton noticed Heroman's toy form within the wreckage and secretly took it, which shows that it was charred and wrecked, and he secretly studied it to see if Joey's gauntlet is capable to restoring it though Danton opted not to show it to Joey seeing that peace has been restored.

However, with the fake "Joey" and "Heroman" on the loose and causing destruction, Danton is now pondering on finding Joey himself and is thinking of places where he is likely to be taken, as he is convinced that the REAL Joey is missing and an impostor has taken his place. He mentally wished he had an idea that would form a lead on where Joey might be so he would commence the search and have him try to "reform" the REAL Heroman.

"_I wonder where the REAL Joey is taken...if only I could get a clue as to where he is taken..._"

By then, members of the N.I.A. arrived and Danton is surprised to see them, though he noted that Hughes is not with them, and the next scene gives out a tense atmospheric moments that would cause Danton to be apprehensive and get worried, which slowly makes it self apparent that something is definitely not right here and slowly sensed that something "sinister" is at work here.

"Matthew Danton...?"

"Yes...that is me..."

"We are from the N.I.A..."

"N.I.A. you say?"

"Yes..."

"What brings you here?"

"We would like to invite you to come with us...to tell us where Joey Jones is...we know you're his friend and..."

"The Joey Jones on TV right now is a fake...an impostor...and the REAL Joey is kidnapped...that I believe...and I don't think me coming with you would help matters...wait...why would you "invite" me...?"

As Danton demanded to know why he is "invited" to be taken along, the rest of the N.I.A agents pinned Danton down and handcuffed him and dragged him towards a waiting van, where the teacher struggled to get some answers but is forced inside and the van cruises off, and no one outside the neighborhood noticed it as most are out or some are glued to the TV about the incidents involving "Joey" and "Heroman", believing that the young hero has turned "bad".

**-x-**

The scene later shifts to the streets, where Psy and Lina are walking together, and they are discussing about where to find the REAL Joey, as they are convinced that the "Joey" and "Heroman" they saw are fakers, and they felt that the REAL Joey is taken somewhere, and they hoped that either Danton or Hughes would find leads that would help pinpoint the whereabouts of the REAL Joey. Lina was emotionally worried about him and wished that Joey would be alright.

"This is bad..."

"Joey is kidnapped...and now an impostor is framing the REAL Joey..."

"And if Joey is somewhere...he probably be aware of what's happening right now..."

"I wish there's something we can do..."

"For now...we pray..."

"Yeah..."

"Let's hop Professor Danton and Mr. Hughes would have better luck in solving this situation..."

"I hope so..."

Both teens are unaware that several minutes ago after leaving Danton's lab, N.I.A. agents came and seized Danton and took him to an undisclosed place, and as the two teens are about to part ways, another van arrived and out came several N.I.A. agents, and after getting confirmation of their names, they told the two teens that they are "invited" for questioning regarding Joey, which Psy declines the "invitation", stating that the Joey who is wanted is an impostor and reiterated that the REAL Joey remained missing.

"Simon Kaina?"

"Yes...that is me..."

"We are from the N.I.A..."

"N.I.A. you say?"

"Yes..."

"What brings you here?"

"We would like to invite you to come with us...to tell us where Joey Jones is...we know you're his friend and..."

"What? What for? I have no idea where he is as you saw on TV that..."

However, the agents grappled onto Psy, taking his crutches and began to handcuff him, and Lina became worried of this which Psy told Lina to run, but before she could, other agents showed up and handcuffed her and the two teens are loaded inside the van and are being taken to an undisclosed place, with apparently no witnesses to the incident which would surely caused both Psy and Lina's family to get worried.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

><p>Hope you like it...and though this chapter focused heavily on the battle between Joey and Aquanoid, it certainly gave you readers something to up the suspense factor a bit, but at least you get to see Joey doing some "Heroman" actions so it'll make you feel like watching Heroman even though the REAL Heroman hasn't shown up yet.<p>

And now shocker #1...Danton is taken by the N.I.A. agents...because of the pretense of being Joey's "friend" and claimed that Danton knew where Joey is, in which the teacher honestly answered that he has no idea about it, and there he gets taken away. Definitely something is off since Hughes is in command of the N.I.A. and it would be suspicious that Hughes would do this.

Next is Shocker # 2...the very same N.I.A. agents have taken Psy and Lina as well, and this is surely sinister as someone is doing this, and whether Hughes plays a hand on this or not, it would surely cause much more problem for Joey's friends.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview:<em>**

The next chapter will show you whether Joey Jones survives the waterfall situation or not, but again he is again being attacked by another new enemy while still in the "waters", while another "important someone" within Joey's life is taken by the N.I.A. agents, and there the culprit behind this will be revealed...


End file.
